What makes you hear the soothing voice of your mother, summer raindrops gently falling on the roof of your cabin, or your favorite song?

Molecules bounce against each other, creating a chain of motion that takes the form of a wave, spreading outward in a pulsing pattern. The wave moves through air, water, wood, glass, flesh and bone, earth, and rock. When the wave hits your ears, causing your eardrums to vibrate, your brain processes the wave as — Sound — and with it any associated meaning and emotion.

While the five traditional human senses together help us navigate the world around us, we primarily learn from it due to perception, learning, cognition, and activities mediated through Vision. In many areas, incl. Art and Design, the primary focus on Vision and visual form, has led to sensory overload in the visual domain. 

Sound follows Vision closely in its importance to help us navigate the world while also contributing to substantial sensory overload in the auditory domain, sometimes called sensory pollution. However, compared to the visual environment, the aural environment is largely under-designed across most Art and Design fields.

Using an engaging, fun, and sometimes geeky combination of theory, history, practice, and praxis projects, this class will introduce you to the vast and wonderful world of Sound. Mostly invisible yet physical, Sound is an essential sensory domain and material in Architecture, Design, and the Fine Arts, exploring the poetic nature of Sound, going far beyond the traditional understanding of auditory experience and communication, such as Music or Language.

No matter if you have just started your journey of understanding and beginning to work with Sound, or if you are already experienced in working with Sound, this class will offer your current vantage point fresh perspectives, including Guest lectures from leading practitioners in Art and Design. 

Together, let's dive deeper into working with and designing for Sound – with our minds, bodies, and hands.