This study takes inspiration from provocative design methods to gain knowledge on sound preferences regarding future vehicles’ designed sounds. A particular population subset was a triggering component of this study: people with hearing impairments. To that aim, we have developed a public installation in which to test a hypothetical futuristic city square. It includes three electrical vehicles whose sound can be designed by the visitor. The interface allows the user to interact and play with a number of provided sonic textures within a real-time web application, thus “playing” the design. This opens a design space of three distinct sounds that are mixed into an overall soundscape presented in a multichannel immersive environment. The paper describes the design processes involved.
Part of ISBN 9789152773727
QC 20230620