Without all the beeps and chimes, without sonic feedback, all of your modern conveniences would be very hard to use. If a device and its sounds are designed correctly, it creates a special “theater of the mind” that users completely … Continue reading →
Oct 23
100 Objects #21: Window from the House of D
In 1932, the Women's House of Detention—New York City's first women's prison—opened in the heart of Greenwich Village. It was opened to make "wayward" women quiet, private, and properly feminine. And the building had one unique feature originally meant to be a sort of kindness—a ... Show More
37m 3s
Oct 21
Audio Guide of the Imperfections of a Perfect Masterpiece
This episode is sponsored by Acura.From the outside, the building is a light gray spiral, and from the inside, the art is displayed on one long ramp that curves up towards a glass skylight in the ceiling. We’re going to take the greatness of this building as a given. What we’re g ... Show More
29m 44s
Jun 2022
Relearning Boléro: How our brains rewrite the sounds we hear
In the same way that optical illusions can trick our eyes, auditory illusions can trick our ears. This raises a serious question: what is hearing, and how much of it is actually made up by our brains? In this story from the Unexplainable podcast, we explore how our brains create ... Show More
38m 7s
Aug 2024
The Sound of Apple: Marimbas, Radars & Reflections
In Part 2 of our deep dive into Apple’s iconic sound design, the Apple Design Team unpacks the iPhone’s trio of default ringtones, the evolution of their alarm sounds, the UX sounds of the AirPods Pro, and much more. Along the way, legendary beatmaker Flying Lotus breaks down his ... Show More
23m 51s