SnapSound is a sound-visualization kinetic artwork designed specifically for people with hearing impairments. It uses graphic notation to help them appreciate sound art—similar to an early-20th-century optical toy, “Ombro Cinéma,” which creates animation by using rotating paper scrolls. While “Sound-Aligned Images” is not primarily focused on animation, it emphasizes visual storytelling and the process of making sound visible through visual symbols.

In the artwork, students use visual symbols to represent sounds, expressing their own interpretations of dynamic audio signals. They employ graphic scoring, describing music through abstract patterns, symbols, and accompanying textual explanations, stepping beyond the framework of traditional sheet music. Graphic scores can inspire students to explore the relationship between sound and visual symbolism. By “visualizing” sound, audiences can read rhythm and changes in intensity/volume from the images—understanding the sound structure visually, and building a multi-sensory experience that does not rely on conventional music theory or on hearing.

The sound sources used in the project include:

• Field recordings: capturing ambient sounds in outdoor or indoor environments.

• Foley sound effects: using voices or everyday objects to simulate specific sounds and create more realistic audio effects.

After collecting the materials, students use audio software to edit and process them, producing the final customized sound effects for the work. All electronic sound elements in the piece were designed and created by the students themselves. They used Ableton Playground (online synthesizers) and Audacity (for editing) to carry out sound creation and editing.