Intentional | Audio Identity Blog

I’m taking a few days off for the winter break, Christmas and New Year’s, so there won’t be much activity. But I’ll leave you with an idea that sprung to mind as I spent the day flying yesterday: shareable playlists on airplanes. Why the heck not.

If the Zune can read the playlists of other Zunes nearby, it sure would be swell if, while on a plane, I could spend a few hours exploring others’ musical tastes and discovering some tasty new audio treats. After all, I’m a captive audience and looking for anything to distract me for a few hours. What better way to spend the time than listening to new music?

It’s already doable for iTunes users wholug onto their laptops inflight and share their connections with others. (Though technically illegal, few people actually shut off the wireless features of their laptops in mid-flight.) Now it’s just a matter of taking the computer out of the equation and making it as simple as turning on my phone, iPod or Zune — whatever I have.

Microsoft is halfway there, with their Zune’s share-ability. But their track record doesn’t show a history of making things that are 1-2-3 usable. If there’s anyone I trust to make this a reality, it’s Apple. Now all they need to do is open up that iPod to wireless connectivity, and I’m flying happy. (Come to think of it, this seems like a great fit for a progressive US airline like JetBlue.)

A guy can dream, can’t he? Happy holidays…NF

Of course, none of these links have any obvious connection to “audio branding,” per se, but when you mix business with music, sound and voice, the world is full of interesting outliers. — NF

Since my head’s still stuck in sound-as-therapy mode, I thought I’d pass along what may be the most inspiring thing I’ve seen in the past few months: a link to Cymatics — the study of wave phenomena.

For 14 years (Hans Jenny) conducted experiments animating inert powders, pastes, and liquids into life-like, flowing forms, which mirrored patterns found throughout nature, art and architecture. What’s more, all of these patterns were created using simple sine wave vibrations (pure tones) within the audible range. So what you see is a physical representation of vibration, or how sound manifests into form through the medium of various materials…

These cymatic images are truly awe-inspiring, not only for their visual beauty in portraying the inherent responsiveness of matter to sound, but also because they inspire a deep recognition that we, too, are part and parcel of this same complex and intricate vibrational matrix.

And that’s what grabs me — that we’re physically wired to respond to sound in deep and meaningful ways we’re barely aware of. Here it is, made visual. (In an ironic twist, we need to see the sound to believe its effect on us.)

I was fortunate enough to catch some of Jenny’s amazing videos when Michael Conforti presented at the GAIN conference in November. (Imagine the sound of 700 jaws dropping on the floor…great job, Michael.) They’re for sale at the Cymatics site.

In any case, we’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s possible, folks. The what-ifs should be driving you mad at this point. If you’d like to explore the ways this can relate to your product, service, strategy or offerings, let’s talk. It’s what we do. — NF

Two weeks back I asked you for innovations in music therapy. (Why leave it to the chronically ill?) My friend Renee has delivered, pointing me to Liquid Sound’s work with Toskana Therme — a spa where “trance dance workshops are in full swing, and guests of all ages travel far and wide monthly for full-moon underwater live DJ sets. The program attracts thousands of visitors a year, and now spas as far away as Miami are starting to take notice.”

While at first this sounds like nothing more than a fancy lightshow, a la Bellagio Las Vegas, apparently there are some healing qualities to this. Or at least the perception of such, according to this article in the Sydney Morning Herald:

Schneider said the combination of light and sound, added to the spa’s natural-healing saline waters, pulls participants into deeper relaxation faster than normal.

As bones and muscles work like a huge eardrum when floating in water, Remann said, underwater sound travels through the whole body. “Even many deaf and hard-of-hearing people can ‘hear’ the music underwater,” Schneider added.

It’s easy to cast this off as experiential hype — I’m not wild about the theme-park component to this — but the healing element highlights the fact that we people, who are comprised mostly of water, are molecularly wired to respond to sound.

The opportunities for innovation? Endless. If recuperation time is measurably sped up through this, keep your eye on the insurance companies to lead the charge with interesting offerings. — NF

NYT looks at the role of music in stores this holiday season, with peeks into the strategy for the Gap, Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, etc. Sure, the music can get people to stick around and spend more, but perhaps retail-research guru Paco Underhill makes the most salient point in the piece:

Music is being used by some merchants to clue people in about who isn’t supposed to be there,” he said. For example, in the morning there may be music for the older generation, with music for younger people later in the day.

I’ve always been fascinated with the “out-of-the-box experience.”

When a $2,500 piece of technowizardry appeards in a heavy cardboard rectangle on my front porch, fresh from the UPS farm, I’m eager to see just how well those promises from Brand X holds up. The opening of the box, after all, is the bridge between a company’s perception of itself and the reality that its customers have to live with; a random collection of junk inside a box speaks volumes about a company’s real-world operations. An Apple moment, on the other hand…well, y’know.

Given this, many companies even pay to have consultants audit their OOTB experience, as a reality check of sorts. But that’s no longer as necessary: two new sites, Unboxing and Unbox./IT! will do it for you.

The good news: random strangers will do it for you. Free! (Just think of the viral possibilities.)

The bad news: negative reviews are posted for all to see. (Just think of the viral possibilities.)

There’s just one chance to get it right. “If you blow it, that’s it,” says Vincent Nguyen of unbox.it, in today’s WSJ. “It is unscripted. It is kind of like a reality show.”

EliasArts — my co-conspirator vendor for the Java and Sun audio brand work — has relaunched their site. It’s clearly setting a different tone for the firm. The audio identity section specifically addresses some of those sticky issues that most agencies fail to communicate, such as pricing and creative freedom. Stop by or visit their myspace pages, and throw ‘em a howdy. — NF

BusinessWeek follows up the AIGA Gain Conference with a podcast featuring moderator Tom Kelley of Ideo. If you’ve ever been curious about the relationship between business and design, the podcast is a wonderfully grokkable 10-minute overview, with plenty of anecdotes pulled from the conference. Give it a listen.

On a related note, speaker notes (PDF) from yours truly are available for download over at the Gain conference website. Bonus (or curse): AIGA has promised podcast interviews from backstage, featuring all speakers from the conference. Stay tuned! — NF