The sound of future objects: Designers providing innovating tools for Design

Design is a constantly evolving matter and the current deadlocked economic situation generates a natural breathing space in which collect the design driven innovations thought to foster the future design, the Advanced Design. Perceptive design represents a forefront in design researches, and in this context several research paths have already been investigated, specifically in relation with sight and touch. On the contrary, product sound design is a relatively new concept that still lacks a systematic procedure. In this paper, SounBe® tool is presented. It consists in an innovative tool developed by a multidisciplinary research team in aid to designers dealing with sounding objects. The main goals offered by this device are to support and orientate designers in the hyper-choice between different possible materials during the project phase, and to generate a common language shared by designers, enterprises and technicians in order to improve the comprehension on what concerns acoustic perception.