5: Ethical Concerns

Making applications or experiences intentionally unpleasant needs to be discussed as to what level its use is still ethical. This is especially true when done in combination with an intent of prevention, as it is not only invoking negative responses but could also be misused in certain scenarios. While being unpleasant and/or annoying might be easily perceived and can be pointed out easily by the user, a bigger point for discussion should be raised when applying subconscious elements such as discreet background sound layers or loosely perceived lower frequencies. As these approaches might have an effect without the user being able to be aware of their existence, a clear and ethical approach to user permissions and knowledge must be implemented.

It is important to note that these concerns should already be raised and discussed for general design elements outside of these Lynch-inspired Sonic Aberrations. Ongoing improvements of UIs in regards to likability, user experience, and performance are already highly manipulative in order to increase the productivity and optimization not only of the application but of the users themselves. This already presents a degree of direct manipulation and alteration of user experience and should already be a discussion in any UI design, but in the case of intentionally creating unsettling or surreal experiences it should be openly and thoroughly addressed throughout the process, from design to user interaction.

Conclusion

In this paper, we present our design methodology of implementing Sonic Aberrations in a wide variety of situations to steer the user in their experience. Strongly inspired by the works of David Lynch, these design recommendations focus on persistent background noises, ambient drones, disjointed sound design, and the use of stillness and fragmented dialogue as methods for achieving intentionally unsettling or surreal experiences. While much of the current designs for UI focus on providing positive or relaxing experiences, this method focused on the negative or disruptive possibilities of such a sonic approach. While certain considerations must be made in deploying such a design methodology, we believe that its use can lead to new and aesthetically unique experiences for designers and users alike. The idea that things which are uncomfortable are bad and things which are comfortable are good is one that is rooted in a rather dull and binary worldview. We look forward to engaging the HCI community in discussing how these proposed methods of incorporating unsettling sonic elements can push forward our work. Whether in a design approach, a job, or even in your daily life, there can be beauty in these things which we may reflexively deem as "bad". We should reconsider these "bad" elements for HCI, because they could lead us to new and previously unimagined areas of expression and interaction.

"Even in the so-called dark things, there’s beauty." - David Lynch