Jiazhen: When I was walking in Union Square with a heated steam eye mask, the first thing I experienced was the pain and panic brought by the loss of my sense of sight. Union Square is a very noisy and highly crowded place in New York. After my vision was deprived, I instinctively paid more attention to my hearing, as I needed to ensure my safety in this environment. As I walked, I viewed my surroundings from a more macro perspective and realized that I was attending classes in the city of New York, which reminded me of my experiences applying to colleges during my high school years. It sounds absurd... Perhaps only when I focus on one sense can I truly become aware of the environment I am in.
Jack: I strolled through Union Square with the eye patch on for about 15 minutes.The patch blocked my vision leaving me to rely on the sounds surrounding me, which created a sense of unfamiliarity and vulnerability. At the same time, I start hearing a lot of sounds around me. I noticed that the sounds seem louder than before, maybe because my sense of hearing is stronger when I don’t have my eyesight. I can hear the chirping of birds and the flapping of their wings, the chatter of passersby and children's laughter, the rumble of passing traffic and honking horns, the shuffle of a crowd boarding a bus and the wails of sirens from emergency vehicles. These sounds all painted a landscape. They evoked memories of my visit to this city at 14 years old—a sensation indeed. It dawned on me that six years had swiftly passed since I ventured to the US on my own. Although I go back to China every year, at that moment a wave of homesickness washed over me like never before. After I take off the eye patch, the blinding light of the sun shines into my eyeballs. Just like a person turning on a light switch in a pitch black room.
Translating Experiences into Design [Individual Experience]
Jiazhen: I believe that sound is definitely an element that can be transformed into a design aspect based on my experience. I am very interested in creating audio that has a sense of space. When I put on the eye mask, I heard the sound of construction drills around me, the sound of ambulances on the distant streets, the sound of people walking past me, the sound of the wind in the air, and some white noise coming from an unknown source. The sounds of New York City always give me a sense of tension and unease. The combination of various sounds often makes me very irritable, and I want to highlight this feeling. I am also very interested in the process of abstracting specific sounds, such as people's conversations or the construction noises coming from nowhere in particular. Creating surround sound effects that allow sound to come from all directions is definitely a process that can make the environment three-dimensional, even if my environment is pitch black or dimly lit.
Jack: After this experience in Union Square, I think sound is a key design factor. Just like all the video games I played before, with good sound design, people can really immerse themselves into the environment. I think I would use the 3D sound a lot in this project. With every detail of sounds, the room can bring back memories and feelings. I think I will focus on which particular sound will evoke it;s matching memories, especially in Chinese cultures. For instance, a conversation between a couple in a kitchen, the buzzing sound of an electronic mosquito swatter, the sound of water dripping from a broken water tap, the sound from an old TV without signal.
Designing for Intentional Experiences
In our environmental design, inspired by the concept of a darkroom, we all appreciate the mystery and unknown that low lighting brings. We aim to recreate a dimly lit room that exists in reality, one that everyone has experienced at some point. This room could be a bedroom, a classroom, or another space, such as a train station. We plan to introduce a few sources of dim light in this environment, such as a desk lamp, a floor lamp, or the dim moonlight shining through a window. People will explore the room through sound and dim lighting. Everyone can imagine the stories behind the room's furnishings. I hope that people can find the relationship between their emotions and the environment in this setting.
The feedback we received during the sections are more about the concept of our project, since the prototype itself is visually clear and well constructed. However, the whole concept is pretty hard for us to explain to our classmates just using plain language. We think the audiences can reveive a clearier experience when they see our final outcome. The sound, light and all the objects in this small room will together create a complete immersive experience.