February 21, 2019

Sound of Design

2

min

Reading Time

Experience the Sounds of Design Objects with our App

The sounds of design objects are often as characteristicas their shape. So what does the dial on a telephone set or the engine of a car sound like? Experience the sound of objects from our exhibition using your own mobile phone or tablet PC by activating the Sound of Design web app.

You will find this symbol on the labels for exhibits that are featured in the app. Simply log into the free of charge Bayern WLAN. Then open your Internet browser and click on “Connect”.
Enter www.sound-of-design.de or simply scan the QR code.
You may also press this button:

Photograph of a smartphone on a white background. The app is displayed on the screen in green and red. You can see the logo, a drawing of an espresso machine, a soundtrack and a table with information about the object.

We are adding sounds to our collection so as to integrate the acoustic dimension of our exhibition items into our presentation.
By publishing this archive in our Web-app it will form part of the multimedia experience visitors can enjoy while also infusing life into objects that might otherwise seem remote museum pieces. By way of introducing “Sound of Designˮ we are launching a topical focus on the era of the economic miracle (1950s/1960s), in which new electrical devices and with them diverse sounds entered people’s everyday lives.

Sounds range from the ringing of old telephone sets to the specific engine sounds of iconic autos to the clicking of typewriter keys. At present, the app includes 49 exhibits from the exhibition “Sound of Design”, and there are up to five different sounds for each. Visitors can compile their favorites in a playlist and also download all the sounds free of charge for private use.

50 objects in the DDB

The goal of the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (DDB) is to offer everyone unrestricted access to Germany’s cultural and scientific heritage, that is, access to millions of books, archived items, images, sculptures, pieces of music and other sound documents, as well as films and scores, from all over Germany.
As a central, national portal, the DDB is aiming to bring together and network digital content from all of Germany’s cultural and scientific institutions.

As the first design museum, Die Neue Sammlung has recently also been archiving and presenting the tones and sounds of the objects on display.

Screenshot from the DDB with the "SK 2/2" radio from 1959 as an example object. A play button in the middle above it to play the sound that the object makes.
Arthur Braun and Fritz Eichler, Radio “SK 2/2”, 1959, DDB Die Neue Sammlung.
Foto: DDB

The presentation is supported by:
PIN. Freunde der Pinakothek der Moderne e.V.

The app was realised with the support of:
IKEA Stiftung

  • Logo of PIN. The capital letters are black and large. To the right of the lettering is Freunde der Pinakothek der Moderne e.V. in grey capital letters.
  • The IKEA Foundation logo is light blue. On the left is a filled-in square, on the right the lettering with the two words.