The goal is not always finding the right answer.

Overview

Sound & Vision is a venture into experimental sound creation and synchronized live visual performance. It is a study of sound, image, notation and expressiveness. The focal point of this study is to inform the visual content of a live music performance through design driven inquiry.

Sound & Vision is a body of work that investigates what the role of a media designer in music could be. The goal is not to answer questions, but to generate new ones. Through the use of design research, collaboration, and interactivity, this thesis project creates these new questions, and plants the seed for a practice that will continue to grow. It is about design going deeper than just creating album art or a music video. What does it mean to be a visual maker/thinker with a hybridized practice in music?

Technique:
A common thread in each of my projects is collaboration. I have relied heavily on input from others. I asked for contribution from musicians, friends, and people from all over the world (via Mechanical Turk). It is critical to my practice to have individuals I can collaborate with on a high level. I am using design research and “learning through making” as a means to develop methodologies and knowledge in my field. Even the failed projects are interesting in what they reveal. The emphasis is not always finding the right answer, or the most beautiful outcome; the focus can be on the process.

Audience:
The nature of my work speaks to different audiences because it is cross-disciplinary, cross-modal and cross-media. As a media designer, I want to state my boundaries, who my audience is and what current work I am in dialogue with.

Experimental research projects are in line with the type of work that comes out of graduate design programs. Thus, these research projects are inherently in discussion with other graduate design programs. The applied work that I did with musicians is made for musicians and fans of music. The primary audience of these projects is very different from the research-based projects. A music fan can see the visuals I created or hear the songs I curated and enjoy them at face value. They could also go deeper and see the process, historical references, motives, and cultural implications. This work can be situated in different circles: music, design, art and VJ culture.

Visuals:
Visuals have long been a part of musical performances; now they are a necessity. Stage productions have become a multi-million dollar endeavor, and technology has developed to the point that designers can think beyond the normal conventions. Artists like Kanye West and U2 have based their whole tour on the multimedia experience (Kanye’s Glow in the Dark tour and U2’s 360 tour). While stage production and visuals are not a new idea, the scale of these projects has evolved into a spectacle of super bowl proportions. The designer becomes the star as well. VJ is no longer an acceptable label.

With publications like Make Magazine and Instructables, anyone can get their hands on interactive toolkits and how-to guides and incorporate interactivity to any project. Cell phones can become a standard interactive tool for live shows. The space is now activated; it is up to designers to use this new hybridized medium to its full potential.

Music:
Musicians can be inspired by a number of things. A song can be inspired by life experiences, a moment in time, art, past musicians etc. Songs can also be dictated by constraints. This is where my entry point for creating music lies. Through directed studies and prompts, the input of a designer can help shape the formative steps of songwriting. How often is a rap star handed a book of typography and asked to interpret it musically? How many rockers are open to composing a song based on a designer’s ambition? How many of your favorite songs are based on a piece of interaction design? These are all questions I am posing.