When Materials Meet Sound: Discovering the Meaning of Deformable Materials in Musical Interaction

Research on Digital Musical Instruments (DMIs) design highlights that materiality plays an important role in DMI design and musical interaction. However, DMI design research often focuses on technology-oriented factors, with less exploration of the meaning of materials in design practice. In this paper, we explore how DMI designers understand deformable sensor materials and how they use these as a resource for creative aesthetic design. Eleven DMI designers were invited to use a selection of deformable sensor materials to create prototype DMIs with them in a design activity. Three design approaches emerged, determined by how designers perceived and explored sensor materials. We discuss the potential of the methodology for exploring strongly entangled elements, such as material, gesture, and sound, in DMI design. The results contribute to the design practice for DMI designers and to further exploration of material-based design research in Human-Computer Interaction.