Form Follows Sound

Sonic interaction is the continuous relationship between user actions and sound, mediated by some technology. Because interaction with sound may be task oriented or experience-based it is important to understand the nature of action-sound relationships in order to design rich sonic interactions. We propose a participatory approach to sonic interaction design that first considers the affordances of sounds in order to imagine embodied interaction, and based on this, generates interaction models for interaction designers wishing to work with sound. We describe a series of workshops, called Form Follows Sound, where participants ideate imagined sonic interactions, and then realize working interactive sound prototypes. We introduce the Sonic Incident technique, as a way to recall memorable sound experiences. We identified three interaction models for sonic interaction design: conducting; manipulating; substituting. These three interaction models offer interaction designers and developers a framework on which they can build richer sonic interactions.