What is it about?
This study explores how the everyday sounds around us—such as birds, rain, or human activity—can be turned into visual images. Based on personal experiences living in an Indigenous Dayak village, the author recorded daily sounds and transformed them into visual patterns using sound data. These visuals are not just technical outputs but creative interpretations that reflect how we relate to our environment. The project shows that sound is an active part of our lives and can be “seen” through design. By combining personal reflection with visual creation, the study offers a new, accessible way to understand and communicate the connection between people, place, and sound.
Featured Image
Photo by Ricardo Porto on Unsplash
Why is it important?
By turning everyday sounds into visual forms through personal, place-based experience, the work offers a fresh, human-centered alternative to technical sound visualization. Grounded in an Indigenous context, it highlights overlooked sensory knowledge and expands design practice. Its accessible approach can engage wider audiences and inspire new ways of seeing, hearing, and communicating lived environments.
Perspectives
This work reflects my personal journey of listening closely to everyday life and translating those sounds into visual form. It allowed me to reconnect with place, memory, and environment, while exploring how design can express experiences that are often heard but rarely seen.
Dr Juhri Selamet
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Visual Autoethnography of Daily Sounds, Visual Communication Quarterly, July 2024, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/15551393.2024.2373048.
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