H(ear)s to Us

An interactive sound experience facilitating moments of human connection.

Why did I make this?
When I moved to Vancouver for university, I quickly found myself feeling lonely. I kept hearing the same thing from others—Vancouver is known, among other things, as a tough place to make social connections.

Loneliness is a complex issue, but I wanted to explore how design might help. That curiosity led me to revisit an old idea of mine: an interactive, evolving public sound sculpture. That’s where my design process began.

Design process

Research:

Secondary

Interviews

Co-design

Analysis

Prototyping and testing:

• Assumption and question testing
• Tangible interaction testing
• Implementation of testing feedback from users to design
• Repeated steps 2 + 3

Reflection:
This design process varied from others I’ve done before as I was exploring mediums unknown to me. I initially planned to create a blueprint for how this experience logistically might exist in public spaces, but in my final semester, I shifted toward building a tangible, interactive prototype.

That shift led me into unfamiliar territory: Arduino, coding, electronics, sound, MaxMSP. It was overwhelming at times, but also deeply engaging. I’ve learned that iteration never really ends, and that’s what makes the design process meaningful. I still want to iterate on this! Looking back, I wish I’d shared this journey with another creative from the start. I think it would’ve made the outcome even richer.