The Sound of Stuff – Archetypical Sound in Product Sound Design
(2015)
author(s): Anna Symanczyk
published in: Journal of Sonic Studies
Through their history, materiality, and use, products gain sonic qualities and attributes, which become an integral part of contemporary sound design for these objects. Taking the example of the vacuum cleaner, this article discusses the relationship between historical material properties and product sound design as well as between listening traditions and characteristic product sounds. It concludes that there is an archetypical sound for vacuum cleaners. Following the role of sound through several examples of advertisements, this article performs a cultural analysis of sounding objects and the communication surrounding these sounds in order to better understand the effects that archetypical sounds have on buyer or user perception of product sounds.
