Hypha
Connecting to - and through field recordings in the form of intimate sound-memos.
UX: Tom van Wijland, Ece Günesen
ID: Isabelle Olsson, Julius Bahl
UX: Tom van Wijland, Ece Günesen
ID: Isabelle Olsson, Julius Bahl
Hypha is a system consisting of two ritual objects of the post-social media era.
It makes use of the slow-consumed and abstract medium sound, aiming to remedy our obsessive and distracting relationships with today's visual-based digital realm, encouraging us to be present in the moment, and reflect on past experiences through soundscapes.
Please activate sound from the right corner of the video ↑
Power of sound
We started the design process by talking to a sound expert who is experienced in nature field recordings. He described his time recording in nature as a state of deliberate mindfulness where the individual focuses on stillness [as to not disturb the recording] and immersion. His shared experiences and insight inspired us to explore sound as a grounding element in tech.
Little pebble
high pitch, sharp, trills (prrrtprrrt), cute, melodic
Mother pebble
breathing, purring, warm, mysterious, knowledgeble
The two units are given a distinct personality of their own through their contrasting sonic identities. The portable field recorder resembles a little bird companion, whereas the home unit embodies a wise, lazy housecat to come home to.
A weekly recap in the form of an audio-visual experience is compiled through all the saved recordings. By turning moments into a more fluid medium through sound, things become less easily quantified and more open for humane interpretation and reflection.
Weekly reflection
A weekly recap in the form of an audio-visual experience is compiled through all the saved recordings. By turning moments into a more fluid medium through sound, things become less easily quantified and more open for humane interpretation and reflection.
The composition can be synchronized with diverse data sources at the user's discretion.
The composition can be synchronized with diverse data sources at the user's discretion.
Sound↑
Sonic branding
The brand name takes inspiration from a botanical term, the hyphae [or hypha in singular], referring to each of the branching filaments that make up the mycelium of a mushroom bodies. A 'connection' of this nature allowed us to play with the idea graphically, including the motion graphics and sonic branding.
Process
Throughout the project, I was exposed to different softwares that I had no prior knowledge of such as Touchdesigner and Ableton (shoutout to Tom, who is the real Ableton wizard here). Despite the mini-project's tight timeframe of just 3 weeks, I was able to create data-reactive visuals, albeit with varying degrees of success. More importantly, I gained valuable insights into working with node-based tools and was able to visualize our concept in a simpler manner.
