Thoughts on sound from Keith Gillespie, Head of Sonic Branding at WithFeeling.
Sound, for most people, is a forgotten sense until it’s taken away or used in a way that causes discomfort.
As people, we move through our day leaning towards comfort.
We wear sunglasses to soften harsh light on our commute. We start the morning with coffee that smells a certain way, tastes a certain way, and warms us in a certain way. We dress in colours that feel familiar and pleasing, and we instinctively avoid anything that disrupts that balance.
When something looks uncomfortable, we can close our eyes or look away. Vision is easy to control. Sound isn’t. It penetrates. It surrounds us. It follows us. And for that reason, amongst others, we often forget about it entirely.
Which is why good sound is sound you never think about.
It fits naturally into your life, into your environment, into your comfort.
It disappears.
As sound designers, that’s what we manipulate.
We introduce music into public spaces to soften the noise of a busy environment, or to fill the awkward silence of a morning café, encouraging you to stay longer without ever realising why.
We shape atmospheres that feel calm, warm, or familiar, even when the space itself is far from it.
At the same time, we design sounds to do the opposite.
Alarms, ringtones, notifications; they’re engineered to break comfort.
To cut through. To demand attention. To remind us that sound doesn’t always want to disappear. Sometimes it needs to be impossible to ignore.
There are few senses that surround us the way sound does. Few have such an immediate and innate control over our emotions, our behaviour, and our daily comfort.
Sound isn’t just birds chirping, music on the radio, or, as I write this, the sudden and overwhelming awareness of how loud my keyboard actually is.
It’s a tool, and one far more powerful than we often realise.
At WithFeeling, we embrace the comfort of beautiful music, but we also understand the leverage of discomfort.
From sonic branding to bespoke campaign music, voice, experiential sound, and everything in between, we’ve had the opportunity to demonstrate just how influential sound can be, and we’re excited to let you hear what’s next.
So take a moment to listen. Really listen.
What does your keyboard sound like?
What does your world sound like?
Stop ignoring sound.