Welcome, this is the raw text I wrote during the development of the Oise product. No generative AI was used in the process.
The idea behind Oise is to make the user more aware and mindful of the complexities and parts that make up the sounds they hear on a daily basis. Sounds are an incredibly important part of most people’s lives, yet we never actually think about the sounds themselves, just the meaning behind them. It addresses an increasing lack of awareness and lucidness of the very basics of human existence. As our world continues to get more and more busy, intense, and stimulating, we spend less and less time aware of ourselves and our senses. We push through every day without thinking about what we see, feel, taste, smell or hear. This object aims to pull the user out of their tunnel vision and to explore the basics of sound and hearing.
By embodying a nondescript, ambiguous device it pushes the user to dissect one of the five most basic human actions, to hear. It is important that Oise is a standalone product and not tied to any application. Our phones are one of the key sources of our lack of awareness to ourselves so having this device as an app would defeat the entire purpose.
The user for Oise is likely a creative, curious, or particularly introspective person. They are someone who seeks out strife and change, and values a break from everyday monotony. Oise is not meant to be a practical object. It does not make your life easier. It in many ways performs a similar function as a learning toy for a child; it teaches the user about the world around them. It is an object of exploration and play.
Oise is built to be durable. A thick enclosure and internal supports allow it to take a beating whether clipped to a backpack or tossed in a bag. Oise is able to be entirely disassembled with just a screwdriver. This allows parts to be replaced by the user easily, ensuring Oise is able to live a long life. When the user does decide to get rid of it, Oise can be fully recycled, as all plastic components are made of biodegradable recycled PLA.
Oise challenges the user to question the way sound presents itself to them. Every day we experience an infinite amount of unique and interesting noises, yet we rarely notice the vast majority. Those noises that we do acknowledge are typically ones containing meaning. A word, for example, is more than just a collection of sounds to us. It is an auditory form of a meaning within our language. Other noises we might pick up on are sounds that alert us of something. The beep of a microwave signifies the completion of a cooking cycle, the clatter of a pen hitting the floor signifies it fell off the desk, the ring from a phone signifies a phone call incoming. These noises all have a meaning or purpose to them. Even when we hear these noises we are not truly hearing them, just gleaning their intention.
Oise invites the user to explore the world in a way they typically do not. By translating, compressing, and morphing these sounds into a unfamiliar and strange visual medium it invites the user to actually think about the sounds. Think about the parts that build a sound we so take for granted.
By essentially compressing sound into an incredibly over-simplified form, the object also encourages users to compare sounds. Though there are 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 possible combinations (with 6 frequency ranges and 10 seconds), the human brain will see patterns between sounds quickly. Two completely different sounds sources could potentially produce similar patterns. This provides the opportunity for discussion and analysis when dissimilar sources (e.g. a truck driving by and the phrase: “I love you”) might create similar patterns.
By using stickers rather than just paper or a purely digital form, the user is able to attach a sound to something physically. By translating a sound into an abstracted, visual medium, the user is able to attach their special sound to something without needing a device with speaker and battery.
The name removes the N from the word “noise,” in the same way the device removes the contextual meaning behind noises.
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