Abstract
Recent research has established the necessity to understand sound as a service design material since its unique qualities can enhance representational design methods and contribute to the understanding, communication, and collaboration in designing complex service situations. However, much is still unknown about the role sound plays in the service design process and how the nuances related to its representational capacity influence collaborative sensemaking. This paper explores these nuances by developing a framework that allows inclusion of sound in service design practices regardless of sound-related skill level. The framework was developed based on empirical input from a master level course in service design with a specialised focus on sound. It categorises representational capacity of sound as divergent (auditory representations) and convergent (auditory prototypes) and shows how different conceptual levels (abstract vs. concrete) can have meaning-related implications (denotative vs. connotative) in collaborative design work.
Keywords
sound, auditory representations, auditory prototypes, meaning, service design
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1334
Citation
Kuštrak Korper, A., and Rodrigues, V.E. (2026) Sounding out service: explaining representational capacity of sound in service design, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1334
Creative Commons License
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Included in
Sounding out service: explaining representational capacity of sound in service design
Recent research has established the necessity to understand sound as a service design material since its unique qualities can enhance representational design methods and contribute to the understanding, communication, and collaboration in designing complex service situations. However, much is still unknown about the role sound plays in the service design process and how the nuances related to its representational capacity influence collaborative sensemaking. This paper explores these nuances by developing a framework that allows inclusion of sound in service design practices regardless of sound-related skill level. The framework was developed based on empirical input from a master level course in service design with a specialised focus on sound. It categorises representational capacity of sound as divergent (auditory representations) and convergent (auditory prototypes) and shows how different conceptual levels (abstract vs. concrete) can have meaning-related implications (denotative vs. connotative) in collaborative design work.