Note

The work presented here represents a short summary of some of the research I carried out as part of my PhD thesis. This collection of pages was originally presented as part of a poster session at the Sonic Interaction Design workshop in York in April 2009.

My thesis describes each study, and the respective results, in much more detail. You can download my thesis from the research page on my School of Computing website.

Abstract

As new and increasingly ubiquitous technologies permeate and transform the world around us, we argue that there is a need to conceptualize the increasingly complex interactions that will undoubtedly occur as different forms of sonically-enhanced media converge into our everyday lives. One of the key challenges we believe that Sonic Interaction Design has to face is in identifying ways in which the end user can become more involved in the generation and discussion of sound design ideas, thus fostering a greater sense of "user centered sound design".

Drawing upon the field of acoustic ecology [1], we propose the Sonic Mapping Tool, a user centered design method that we feel can be extended further to inform the design of sound for contemporary interactive technologies. Based upon previous work by Macaulay and Crerar [2], McGregor et al. [3] [4], and Schafer [5], the Sonic Mapping Tool assists users to map out the individual elements of their existing auditory environments, and to identify the associated meanings that people give to the key sounds of those environments, thus providing the sonic interaction designer with an awareness and respect for the role that sound plays within the everyday lives of potential users. We believe that this has the potential for opening up significant opportunities in terms of incorporating sound into contemporary technologies in new and interesting ways.

The tool was explored through conducting empirical studies with groups of novice interaction designers to ascertain its suitability when applied to real auditory environments, and the results of disseminating the results to other designers of interactive technologies. In terms of conceptualizing the relationship between potential users and their auditory environment, we show how the tool informed and educated participants about the rich and complex nature of such relationships, but more work is required to ensure that the tool can be made more intuitive. In terms of the disseminated results, it is argued that there is scope for applying the tool as part of more considerable user-centered design projects if combined with traditional auditory display research approaches. As a result, a number of areas for future research have been identified, focusing upon pragmatic ways in which the tool could be expanded within future sonic interaction design projects.

References

  1. Truax, B. 2001. Acoustic Communication. 2nd Edition. Westport, CT, USA: Ablex Publishing.
  2. Macaulay, C. and Crerar, A. 1998. "Observing" the Workplace Soundscape: Ethnography and Auditory Interface Design. In Proceedings of ICAD 1998 (Glasgow, UK, 1 - 4 November, 1998), ICAD.
  3. McGregor, I., Crerar A., Benyon, D. and Léplâtre, G. 2006. Workplace Soundscape Mapping: A Trial of Macaulay and Crerar's Method. In Proceedings of ICAD 2006 (London, UK, 20 - 23 June 2006), ICAD, pp. 285 - 288.
  4. McGregor, I., Crerar, A., Benyon, D. and Macaulay, C. 2002. Soundfields and Soundscapes: Reifying Auditory Communities. In Proceedings of ICAD 2002 (Kyoto, Japan, 2 - 5 July, 2002), ICAD, pp. 290 - 294.
  5. Schafer, R.M. 1977. The Soundscape: Our Sonic Environment and the Tuning of the World. Rochester, Vermont, USA: Destiny Books.