CX Evolves Through Sound Design: "UNMUTE" Launches

In our daily lives, we receive various information through sound. An email has arrived. A payment has been completed. An operation was performed incorrectly. The sounds we unconsciously hear are also sounds someone consciously created. Yes, sound is designed. To make our lives more convenient. To enrich our experiences.

Dentsu Lab Tokyo, in collaboration with STARRYWORKS, launched " UNMUTE," a solution that designs experiences starting from sound. In this article, we spoke with members Yasuhiro Tsuchiya (Dentsu Lab Tokyo) and Koji Kimura (STARRYWORKS) about the current state of sound design and the solutions "UNMUTE" provides.

Clarifying the Value of Sound Design

──You both are involved in various initiatives within the field of sound design. What challenges do you perceive in the current state of sound design?

Tsuchiya: First, I think the concept of sound design itself isn't widely known.

For example, when designing an interface, the focus is often on usability and aesthetics—how the screen looks and how it moves. This is a visual design approach prioritizing visual information. In contrast, a sound design approach involves testing questions like: What sound should play when a button is clicked to encourage user action? How can the user recognize that an action is complete? Is the experience pleasant? I feel that not many companies are yet incorporating this sound design perspective.

Furthermore, while sound design is often perceived as an extension of music production, this isn't necessarily the case. The most crucial aspect of sound design is how to use sound to enhance the user experience, designing it appropriately from a UX (User Experience) perspective. I feel there are still relatively few people who can design sound effectively with this perspective.

Yasuhiro Tsuchiya, zero/Dentsu Lab Tokyo, Creative Technologist/Researcher. After working at an advertising production company, joined Dentsu Inc. in 2006. Member of the CX Creative Center since 2021. Engaged in research and development of products centered on fields like biosignals and robotics, aiming to develop and implement "slightly futuristic communication" utilizing technology.

──Is there a difference in corporate awareness of sound design between Japan and overseas?

Tsuchiya: As mentioned in my previous interview with Suzuki Yuri for this series, globally speaking, the concept of sound design hasn't fully permeated either business or public spaces yet. I believe it's still emerging. While there's global demand, it feels like the field hasn't fully matured.

──I understand STARRYWORKS, where you work, specializes in interaction design. How do you approach sound design?

Kimura: STARRYWORKS is primarily an interaction design company, but in past projects, we've often integrated sound beyond just designing interactions. We've also done many interaction design projects outside screen media, like installations, where sound design was naturally essential. I've collaborated with Tsuchiya-san on various projects blending interaction and sound.

For example, one project we launched together is " SND ".     This allows users to experience how changing the sound played when interacting with a UI (User Interface) can alter the perceived tactile feel, even when the visual appearance remains the same.

This tactile aspect not only enhances UI clarity through sound to facilitate smoother communication between brands and users, but also helps express a brand's personality and values. Therefore, I believe the importance of sound design will only grow in the future.

Koji Kimura, President and CEO of STARRYWORKS. Born in Osaka Prefecture in 1981. Founded STARRYWORKS in 2006, creating content that fuses design and technology across entertainment, advertising, product development, and other fields. Established subsidiary YAMI Inc. (specializing in horror content) in 2015, BUTTON Inc. (specializing in parent-child communication) in 2016, and food service company HU Inc. in 2021. Appointed as a Specially Appointed Professor at Osaka University of Arts in 2018.

──With the growing importance of sound design, could you tell us about the background behind launching "UNMUTE"?

Tsuchiya: It stemmed from the "SND" initiative, which Mr. Kimura also mentioned earlier. For "SND," to convey the importance of sound in interaction design, we freely released UI sounds usable for commercial or non-commercial purposes and a JavaScript library simplifying web implementation—all free of charge. This initiative received significant response both domestically and internationally.

While we considered expanding SND's activities, we concluded that to truly advance the value of sound design itself, we should provide tailored sound design solutions addressing individual corporate needs. This led to the joint launch of "UNMUTE" by Dentsu Lab Tokyo and STARRYWORKS. Our goal is to clarify the value of sound design and deliver that value to companies.

Kimura: STARRYWORKS has always excelled at creating content that integrates visual design, interaction, and sound. Partnering with Dentsu Lab Tokyo allowed us to leverage our strengths across broader fields—brand design encompassing both visual and auditory experiences, UI/UX design, and R&D (research and development). We were incredibly excited when this opportunity arose.

Tsuchiya: Beyond the infrastructure aspects like the proliferation of true wireless earbuds and smart speakers, we're also seeing growing popularity in audiobook content and podcasts. It feels like society's focus on sound is increasing.

Kimura: Given this backdrop, I feel designing sound will become increasingly important going forward, and I expect UNMUTE will find opportunities across various fields.

Creating experiences that leverage sound's functionality and emotional resonance

──Next, please tell us about the service menu UNMUTE provides.

Tsuchiya: There are three main services.

● Sound Design

While sound design covers a broad scope, we conceptually divide it into two categories: Functional Sound Design and Symbolic Sound Design.

Functional Sound Design is an approach that enhances existing functions and improves product experiences through sound. For example, when you lock your smartphone, a "click" sound plays, allowing you to recognize it's locked.

Symbolic Sound Design, on the other hand, is an approach that reinforces the brand experience through sound. This involves designing sounds that evoke the brand's worldview and carefully planning the timing of when those sounds occur.

While conceptually divided into two, actual sound design work often crosses these boundaries. For instance, engine sounds, shutter clicks, or payment confirmation tones are functional sounds, yet repeated exposure can also develop an emotional aspect that contributes to evoking brand imagery or stories. Conversely, spatial soundscape design, while shaping the atmosphere of a space, can also have functional aspects—such as mitigating surrounding noise or using sound to convey the passage of time or seasonal changes.

● Interaction Design

Interaction design involves designing the relationship between user actions and system responses—the interaction between the two—when using devices or software. It encompasses not only the design of sound itself but also the design and implementation of the entire interactive system that leverages the characteristics of sound. Design targets include websites, apps, kiosk terminal UIs, installations, and more.

What sets UNMUTE's interaction design apart from conventional approaches is that interaction design comes first. Rather than adding sound afterward, it allows for the integrated design of interaction and sound from the very beginning.

● Sound Visualization

We handle everything from planning to implementation for live concert productions and music video creation, using various techniques to visualize sound and enrich the auditory experience.

These three areas form our core services.

Kimura: Interaction design has two aspects: functional and emotional.

Regarding the functional aspect, I believe affordance and feedback are crucial. Affordance refers to the appearance and behavior that allows users to easily imagine how to operate something, such as "pressing here seems like it would do this." Feedback means enabling users to recognize their operational status, like "a message appeared, so the operation is complete." Essentially, it's vital not to leave the user lost during operation.

On the emotional side, expressions like a gentle face that makes children feel secure or an intelligent, trustworthy face can be incorporated through movement or changes in UI shape.

While typical interaction design focuses on visual interfaces, we believe that carefully designing sound has the potential to significantly enhance the experience on both functional and emotional levels.

Tsuchiya: Beyond the three points mentioned above, we are also collaborating with Dentsu Inc. ISID and Estech Corp. on a project to design engine sounds for EVs (electric vehicles).

Traditionally, automotive sound design focused heavily on "silencing" – making the cabin as quiet as possible. With EVs, this silencing has largely been achieved. We anticipate that the next essential direction in automotive sound design will be "enhancing pleasant sounds." This involves proactively designing engine and cabin sounds that were lost with electrification – sounds that, in a sense, ensured the "feel of driving" – aligning them with the brand's worldview.

Currently, we are using a simulation environment called VDX Studio to verify the design of EV engine sounds. One interesting finding from this verification is that even when driving at the same speed, the driver's perceived speed can differ based on the engine sound. Exploring this phenomenon further could potentially lead to sound designs that help suppress drivers from speeding.

──It's fascinating that the perceived speed can differ based on sound design, even when driving at the same actual speed. I look forward to discussing EV sound design in more detail in our next article.

Unleashing the Potential of Sound

──What kind of work have the members of "UNMUTE" done in the field of sound design?

Tsuchiya: One project I worked on was the "Interactive Vision Entertainment System." It's a system designed to provide audience-participation entertainment in stadiums and arenas.

Overseas, you often see productions like the so-called "kiss cam," where a couple caught on camera kiss, energizing the venue. But for Japanese sensibilities, that feels like quite a high hurdle, right? On the other hand, simply having people waving their hands when caught on camera isn't very exciting either. We wondered if we could create an interaction that gave the entire stadium a greater sense of unity, so we developed an interaction system using sound.

By analyzing microphone sounds from the audience using AI, we can detect when everyone claps in unison. This enables the development of games where everyone enjoys clapping together in perfect timing. Just like in traditional Japanese rhythms like san-san-shichi-byoshi or ippon-jime, when everyone claps at the same moment, it creates a sense of exhilaration and unity. This is an example of designing an experience based on the inherent properties of sound.

Kimura: I'll introduce two examples. The first is a work called "lumen." This is a space where the walls, floor, and ceiling are all mirrors. Motion graphics are projected onto the wall mirrors in sync with music. The images appear on the mirrors because the walls are half-mirrors. Light from LED displays installed flush behind them passes through the half-mirror surface. To those inside, it feels like being inside a kaleidoscope where patterns move to the music. They can step into an infinitely reflected image, experiencing an unprecedented level of immersion.

 

Another is the "Everyone's Voice Aquarium" content. Sound is a waveform, and this installation focuses on how these waveforms resemble fish bones. When you speak into the microphone, your voice instantly becomes a waveform. Eyes appear on it, transforming it into an animated fish that swims out into the sea. Touching the fish swimming on the wall-projected ocean surface plays back your recorded voice with altered pitch. Since each person's voice has a unique waveform, you can enjoy watching a fish with its own original shape swim. This too is an experience rooted in sound.

 

──Finally, could you share your future vision for "UNMUTE"?

Tsuchiya: "UNMUTE" is a creative team that designs experiences broadly—from UI and sound logos to driving experiences—using an approach centered on designing experiences from sound. Our strengths lie in our deep understanding of sound and our experience in interaction design. We believe we can provide sound design as a solution from a perspective distinct from traditional advertising creative.

Kimura: Regarding enhancing corporate brand value, we believe "UNMUTE" has a role to play. While visual identity and underlying stories are common brand-building elements, we see sound as having equal potential. We aim for "UNMUTE" to lead in delivering this.

Tsuchiya: "UNMUTE," literally translated, means "not muted." Our members are united by the belief in "unleashing the potential of sound," rather than viewing it as unnecessary or dispensable.

By combining the strengths of Dentsu Lab Tokyo, known for its technology-driven planning capabilities, with STARRYWORKS' craftsmanship and implementation skills, we are confident we can achieve high-quality design while ensuring feasibility. We encourage you to feel free to consult with us about anything related to sound.

UNMUTE Official Site: https://unmt.dev/