PhD position on The Design of Product Sounds

[Rene van Egmond <r.vanegmond@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear colleague,

Please find below a description for a PhD-position on The Design of Product
Sounds at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering of the Delft
University of Technology.


Best regards,

Rene van Egmond




Ph.D. position on The Design of Product Sounds
Delft University of Technology

Project Description:
Most consumer products produce sounds when they are used, for example, the
sound of a car door that is closed, or the sound of an electrical
toothbrush. The design of the sound of a product is often neglected when
concepts for new products are developed.  This often leads to a perceived
mismatch between the visual and auditory experience of a product.  As a
result, the total experience perceived by the consumer is not the one a
designer is trying to achieve.  However, there is little known about how
consumers perceive or experience product sounds. Therefore, this project
will investigate the way people recognize, experience, and describe the
sound of consumer products. The first objective of this project is to
determine which perceptual relevant aspects make a sound fitting to a
product and to what extent are these aspects influenced by the experience,
habits and culture of the consumers. The second objective is to investigate
the role of sound in the understanding and appreciation of product use. In
order to achieve these objectives the verbal attributes that people use in
their description of and experience with product sounds will be determined
and related to spectral and temporal aspects of product sounds. These
attributes are then used to generate new product sounds that fit the
(emotional and aesthetical) experience of consumer products.  The final goal
will be to disclose the acquired knowledge for industrial designers in order
to make it possible to incorporate the design of sound in the total concept
of consumer products.

Function demands:
University degree in Industrial Design or other related studies with an
interest in the experience of product sounds and sound design. He or she has
good writing skills in English and preferably has experience in digital
sound processing.

Organization:
Delft University of Technology
Industrial Design Delft, Section Design.
The Section Design has a leading and guiding role in the area of product
experience.  The goal of the Section Design is to acquire knowledge through
applied scientific research and to make this knowledge accessible for the
design community. The Section Design takes part in the ID-Studiolab
(http://studiolab.io.tudelft.nl/research/), which is a design studio-like
environment in which designers and researchers cooperate.  The project is
linked to already existing projects on conceptual thinking in design,
product aesthetics and, emotional responses to products all within the
Section Design.

Terms of employment:
Salary and conditions conform to the collective bargaining agreement for
Dutch Universities.
Salary: +/- eur 25.000 (nlg 55.093) per year
Contract duration: contract for 4 years

People interested in this project are encouraged to contact:
Dr. R. van Egmond
+31-15-2788324
r.vanegmond@io.tudelft.nl

General information concerning Industrial Design Delft can be found at the
website:
http://www.io.tudelft.nl/english/home.html

Applications (including a curriculum vitae) before the 15th of April to:
TU Delft, fac. Industrial Design Engineering
Afdeling P&O, vacaturenummer OCP 2208
Mekelweg 2
2628 CD Delft