Shinkansen Pass By from Brett Macfarlane on Vimeo.
Seemingly everything about Japan has been intimately and intuitively design to make machines seem happy. Even the sleek and aggressive Shinkanse, aka the Bullet Train, feels more Thomas the Tank happy than Apache Helicopter angry in its intrinsic design.
But that may all be the perception of either machine based on the audio cues each is associated with. Train platforms are delightful cacophony of blips, bobs and tunes. The Apaches, which few have ever seen, are associated with intense movie soundscapes of fear and attack. When I added the above track to my Shinkansen pass by suddenly it felt rather melancholy.
There are audio labs in major centres where cross disciplinary teams are aiming to devise the tones and affirmation clicks for electronic buttons. Tones that are intrinsically linked with a particular brand or service. Interesting that the currently field of sound branding is very linear - make an Intel audio mnemonic and play it everywhere for pure recall. The tones of tomorrow may never be recognized or recalled, but the smart brands will measure the feelings of trust, happiness or security each engenders.
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