The sounding side of materials and products. A sensory interaction revaluated in the user-experience.

The new trends in the world of materials and products, growingly focused on a new eco-friendliness and interaction with nature – yet still distinguished by a strong anthropocentrism – lead to the development of materials, systems, technology, and smart, interlinked, expressive, communicative, alive, and hybrid products. A world in which it is almost difficult for designers to find their bearings: how can one interact with such materials and products What is their reaction to touch and smell? What are their distinguishing visual traits? What are their sounds? There is a vast number of tools to analyse and assess such aspects: this article will focus on the “sound” element of materials and products, and using one tool in particular, the SounBe, used to qualitatively assess the acoustics of materials and artefacts.