Sound Visualization🎶
Sound Visualization🎶
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Name：Yuyao He
🎼🎻：晴（qing）
About the MUSIC🎵
About the MUSIC🎵
This is a popular song many years ago that recently go viral again on TikTok for its interlude. When I first heard this music, I felt a deep connection with it. When this project was assigned, this music came to my mind immediately. The professor once mentioned in class that everyone loves music because its rhythm resonates with our heartbeat, making us immerse ourselves in it. I believe this is why I chose this song; its beats feel like they're pulling at my heartbeat.
So... What is your feeling of this music? Every time I heard this music, the feeling and the scenes it creates always catches me. How to interpret this music is up to you. For me, this music feels like the ending of a story, or travling through those precious times, or eagerly searching for something... and in the end, things are fading away.
Based on these feelings, I started my work.
Process
Process
About Adobe
Starting with a totally blank sheet is always difficult. What makes me more frustrated was that I was not that used to using the Adobe Illustrator. Hence, my first step was to learn how to use AI. I opened Xiaohongshu, where many people have uploaded tutorial videos about AI and some usage tips. I followed these tutorials and tried them one by one, which really helped me a lot. I became more proficient in using AI, and I also got some design inspiration from these techniques.
About Ideas
The second step was to start sketching. Actually, I’m not very good at drawing. It was a challenge for me. My inspiration changed multiple times, and I had to keep experimenting to achieve the effect I wanted. As shown in the picture, these were two ideas I had. ⬇️⬇️⬇️
One was to form a heart shape using words, with varying text sizes to represent the heartbeat’s pulsations in rhythm with the beat. But this concept was rejected because it was too specific. If I assigned it a fixed shape, it would limit others' imagination of my work.
The second idea was to use black and white contrast to convey the meaning of redemption and seeking. However, this also didn’t become the final concept because it failed to express the rhythm and musicality. The third idea is the one that became the current work.
About Design
The third step was to start creating the image using AI. According to the instructions, the font, weight, and size of the text could all influence the effect the image conveys. In this piece of music, the main melody is led by the sounds of the violin and cello. This elegant style made me decide to use a more classical type of text, using the lines of the text to reflect the flowing quality of the music.
The design began with a staircase formed by three text elements in the image. After using the transform and distort functions to create these three elements, the design started to take shape. I wanted to use them to present a sense of space and depth, which reflects my feeling of ‘time traveling’ in the music. You can also interpret this spatial sense based on your own perception, as the music itself has an ethereal quality. For the lower part of the image, I chose to form a winding path with text. The letters vary in size and shape, hinting at the twists and turns of a journey. At the end of the text, everything fades away.
Finally, I compared the effect of a white background with that of a black one and decided to turn the entire image black to enhance the sense of strong contrast and depth.
Gestalt Theory
Gestalt Theory
In fact, throughout the design process, I hardly ever consciously tried to apply Gestalt principles. However, the early training on Gestalt, which was the black square exercise, naturally influenced my design to reflect Gestalt. For example, the three steps use continuity and similarity, and the letters in the lower part of the image also utilize closure. If I had deliberately tried to apply Gestalt principles, I think the result wouldn’t have been as effective. It’s the elements that were generated naturally that serve as hidden 'Easter eggs' in this design.
In the final critique, there were a few points about this design that I really liked from my classmates' feedback. They mentioned that the music is very instrumental and classic, and they agreed with my choice of font. Their interpretations of the work made me realize that everyone can have different feelings about a single thing; a thousand people can have a thousand interpretations of Hamlet.
If I had more time, how would I improve my work? I think I would focus more on the beats and rhythm of the music. Because my current design lacks a representation of these elements, placing more emphasis on the feeling aspect instead. I think I would modify it using techniques like shadows or 3D effects.
So... this is the end of the document. Let's see my sound visualization design--qing!!
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