WG2 - Product Sound Design - Minutes of meeting
Date: 08 Sept 2009
Present: Davide Rocchesso, Cumhur Erkut, Michal Rinott, Eoin Brazil (WG4 Transversal delegate)

Ambassadors- Web: Sandra Pauletto, Evaluation: Álvaro Barbosa, Examples: Michal Rinott (co-ambassador Mikael Fernstrom), Bibliography: Cumhur Erkut

An interest was expressed in a Sound Design Symposium or at least there should be more connecting with existing product design companies.

A large problem in the area is the lack of a common vocabulary which can be used to describe the way or the how of the sound, its branding, its action and the sound itself.

This links back with the need to create a bottom-up approach for the key references in the field. A focused small number of key texts need to be selected and iterated within the WG. These will then be used to write the fundamental paper in the field of Product Sound Design. Cumhur has suggested the use of Papers (OS X) as the mechanism to deal with these key references as it overlaps with the Bibliography section.

One interesting area of overlap between examples and evaluation is that of student projects which show a degree of experimental product sound design. They are often boundary cases between product and art while still linking to issues of interaction and art.

Increasingly even the likes of youtube are being used as a market research tool.

In the Germanic tradition and reading from Daniel Hug's work, there are numerous (up to 120 mechanical acoustics mechanisms in cars) mechanical or electro-mechanical parts that use sound and convey some information but perhaps only to the train ear, such as car mechanics or similar technicians.

A proposal has been raised to get an invited expert from the Automotive domain to speak in particular about product sound design in Cars. It was noted Patrick Susini at IRCAM has some links to French car markers.

Definition of Product Sound Design needs to be based on interaction it should be a minimal functional information aesthetic sound design which was developed in an ecological fashion with regard to veridic concerns (Check with Davide or Cumhur for this last point to clarify the meaning/context).

The is a need to document how sound design in products needs to be included from the start of a project as it is typically an ad-hoc activity towards the end of development which results in the likes of active sound design.

Evaluation of live sound interaction not just listening tests is also needed.

Investigate minimal sound design that is only present where action is occurring.

These all point to the examples and the need to highlight interactive sound with good and bad examples. (Examples)

There needs to be a gathering of both scientific and critical thinking methods for the evaluation task. (Evaluation)

In the evaluation section, techniques such as market oriented empirically oriented experiments, descriptive analysis, experimentally based methods, qualitative testing, the concept of `use'. A pointer to Cumhur's paper with Ingar which highlights the requirement for special knowledge.

One interesting thought with relation to the talks given at the MC was the idea of testing Auditory Logos with a hum back test, this would link to the voice sketching workshop.

One transversal activity between WG2 and WG4 suggested was to use the Sonic Interaction Atlas to crash test the examples suggested as part of the Examples development process.

Point to reference the evaluation of DAW (digital audio workstations) in ACM Interactions approximately two issues ago as it highlighted how not all musical concepts are relevant to product sound design.

A side note is that Sophia Dahl will be suggested as a new alternative (Flemming Christensen) for Denmark.

*** NEXT MEETING *** WG should schedule a web meeting in two to three months time, suggestion is the 11th of December. iChat is preferred over Skype as it will allow 1-M conferencing rather than 1-1 conferencing.

Training School, in two years perhaps in Finland (Cumhur).

Ask Andrew Diey to make the SID sound logo and evaluate it.