About

Audisphere

Exploring the world by ear

Mobile App

Overview

Audisphere is a mobile app for listening to and sharing field recordings. The app targets users who enjoy listening to background tracks for focus, relaxation, and sleep, as well as those curious about exploring places and cultures through sound. By offering sounds from specific locations, the app intends to offer rich and meaningful auditory atmospheres.

Approach

Multiple ways of exploring sound allow the user to experience field recordings by their qualities as well as their locations, offering an engaging interactive context for the recordings. The calm, clean aesthetics of the app present the little-known genre of field recordings in an approachable format.

Services

Interactive & branding

Personality

Calm, curious, understated, approachable

Director

Bradford Prairie

Completed

2020

Discovery

Personas

Personas were constructed based on interviews with four people, who provided insights and frustrations about their use of relaxation sounds.

Alyssa

Explores by ear

Age

31

Occupation

Marketing Communications Analyst

$60K/year

Location

Temecula, CA

Alyssa

Explores by ear

User Statement

“I need connection to the outside world through sound because I get lonely working in complete silence.”

Bio

Alyssa works from home in her suburban apartment. When she feels isolated, she enjoys the auditory bustle of a coffeeshop, or neighborhood sounds through her window. She doesn’t like disruptive noises or loud talking. In her downtime, Alyssa enjoys cooking, knitting, and listening to podcasts and audiobooks. She enjoys travel and cultural learnings, and describes herself as a people-oriented introvert.

Goals

  • Overcome work-from-home loneliness
  • Find balance between silence and noise
  • Unwind with sound in the evening
  • Explore through armchair travel

Frustrations

  • Cold, impersonal environments
  • Cheesy relaxation sounds/music
  • Loud, disruptive background talk
  • Inauthentic relaxation techniques

Ambient Sound Use

Work
Relaxation
Sleep

Listens to

Audible
Apple Podcasts
Bandcamp
SoundCloud

Eric

Soothed by Sound

Age

40

Occupation

Software Developer

$90K/year

Location

San Diego, CA

Eric

Soothed by sound

User Statement

“I need a curated collection of high quality sleep sounds because I rely on background sounds to help me fall asleep.”

Bio

Eric works in tech and in lives the city. He enjoys getting away from city noise at his favorite travel destinations, such as tropical beaches and national parks. Eric needs steady, soft background noise to fall asleep, so he sleeps with a fan or YouTube sleep sounds. He likes the selection on YouTube, but dislikes loud ads and the lack of sound-related controls/filters. In his free time, he enjoys hiking and playing video games.

Goals

  • Reduce anxiety
  • Sleep well while traveling
  • Feel more connected to nature in the city
  • Find sleep sounds both he and his partner enjoy

Frustrations

  • Apps not designed for how he uses them
  • Sleep sounds that are too short
  • Obvious looping and/or synthetic sounds
  • Jarring changes in volume or frequency

Ambient Sound Use

Sleep
Work
Relaxation

Listens to

Spotify
YouTube
Headspace
Stitcher

Information Architecture

Navigation

Identity & Branding

Completed App

A world of sounds

Audisphere offers a variety of ways to explore field recordings. Sounds pinned to a map let the user armchair travel to a specific place, and a variety of filters and categories let them browse for sounds with particular content and qualities suited for activites such as sleep and work. Playlists and customizable playback options let the user personalize their experience.

Marketing

Serene ads

A YouTube ad featuring a peaceful field recording targets viewers who use YouTube to play ambient soundscapes, nature sounds, ASMR, and other relaxing content.