Research Proposal Outline

In the fields of interactive art and data visualization, there has been continuous exploration of invisible data such as sound. However, existing approaches have often reduced sound to quantitative metrics (decibels and frequencies represented as information charts or graphs) or reproduced it as temporary visual effects.

As a result, the inherently complex texture of sound (the sharpness of urban noise, the uncanny resonance of a space, and the emotional and bodily responses it provokes) has been pushed to the margins of research. While there have been methods to understand sound, there has been a lack of exploration into design methodologies that allow us to experience sound in its entirety.

It is at this juncture that my research identifies a critical gap. Rather than viewing noise as something to be merely analyzed or reproduced, I seek to redefine it as a medium that can expand human perception and sensibility. This study explores a new design methodology for engaging with the sensory phenomenon of noise, drawing on the established theoretical framework of embodied interaction.

At its core, this research proposes a transformative loop: invisible data (noise) is processed through embodied interaction and digital tools, ultimately becoming aesthetic inquiry. This process reframes noise from a negative phenomenon into a medium for creative exploration.

This research is built upon a unified theoretical framework composed of three interwoven conceptual pillars. Together, they form a coherent narrative: through embodied interaction (How), audiences sculpt the form of sound (What), ultimately turning noise into art (Why).

Pillar 01: Embodied Interaction (How)

The first pillar serves as the philosophical and methodological foundation of the entire process. Paul Dourish argued in Where the Action Is that human cognition and the generation of meaning are not merely abstract computational processes confined to the brain, but rather arise from the ways our bodies engage with the world. He critiqued the limitations of traditional Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), which often confines users to the screen, and asserted that meaningful interaction must be situated within our embodied participation in the physical and social world.

This study adopts Dourish's theory as its central design philosophy, transforming the audience from passive observers (analyzing noise intellectually and listening with their ears) into active participants who control and explore the visual expression of sound through their gestures and bodily movements. The validity of this approach has been substantiated by extensive empirical evidence. A systematic review by Serena Lee-Cultura and Michail Giannakos synthesized 36 studies published over the past decade, providing strong evidence that embodied interaction involving physical movement significantly enhances cognitive skills such as spatial reasoning.

Building on this verified methodology, my research extends its application beyond cognition to the sensory and aesthetic domains, exploring how embodied interaction can deepen our affective perception and aesthetic understanding of complex sensory phenomena such as "noise."

Pillar 02: Sculpting the Form of Sound (What)

The second pillar concerns the concrete creative act that audiences perform through this methodology: "sculpting the form of sound." This concept is theoretically rooted in Jack Zhao and Andrew Vande Moere's research on data sculpture. Their work demonstrated that information, when expressed through physical form rather than remaining on screens, can be communicated more intuitively through our fundamental sensory modalities. However, most of their explorations remained focused on static forms.

This study advances the notion further by proposing dynamic, "living" data sculptures generated and transformed in real time through audience movement. Here, the audience becomes a "digital sculptor," shaping the visual forms of sound with their bodily gestures, while TouchDesigner serves as the "digital chisel" enabling this creative process. This resonates with Panayiota Demetriou's Young Voices Soundscape project, in which intangible oral histories of youth were translated into tangible experiences through physical speakers and spatial arrangements.

While Demetriou's work focused on translating social narratives into embodied experiences, this study differentiates itself by concentrating on the intrinsic form and texture of noise as a sensory phenomenon, rendering it into a manipulable visual entity directly shaped by the audience.

Pillar 03: Turning Noise into Art (Why)

The third and final pillar represents the ultimate goal of this creative process: "turning noise into art." This aim critically inherits and extends the methodological insights of Tom Pursey and David Lomas's Tate Sensorium experiment. Tate Sensorium demonstrated, through empirical experimentation, how augmenting traditional visual artworks with other sensory modalities (smell, taste, and touch) could create multisensory experiences that maximized immersion and memory.

The present study adopts this methodology of multisensory layering but applies it not to already recognized works of art, but to the non-artistic raw material of everyday "noise." Through this approach, the study seeks to reveal the hidden visual beauty and patterns within what is commonly dismissed as unpleasant chaos, transforming a negative phenomenon into a positive aesthetic experience.

In other words, while Tate Sensorium sought to "enrich" existing art, this study seeks to enable noise itself to "become art." Together, these three pillars converge into a single, coherent argument: by sculpting sound through embodied interaction, this study proposes a new way of experiencing noise as art.

To test the research framework, three distinct human-made noise textures will be rendered into clearly differentiated visual and interactive experiences. Each texture represents a different sonic quality that will be translated into specific visual parameters.

This study adopts Practice-led Research as its core methodology, positioning design practice itself as a process of knowledge generation. Three concrete methods are employed:

• Research through Prototyping: The central activity is the iterative design and refinement of an interactive installation composed of three modes. The process of translating sonic qualities into visual parameters and interaction logics constitutes the primary data of the study.
• Critical Journaling: The entire design process is systematically documented through detailed critical journaling, including idea sketches, coding experiments, visual outcomes, and reflective accounts of design decisions. The journal serves as the most important primary source material for the final dissertation.
• Observational Research: Once the prototype is completed, audience engagement with the work will be informally observed and recorded, allowing for analysis of whether the designed interactions successfully elicit the intended experiences or provoke unexpected interpretations.