Press Release
Yiqi Zhao Is Honored with the A' Design Award for Sound Sculpt Interactive Music Synthesizer in Digital Art
Yiqi Zhao acknowledged for digital art by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 18, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Sound Sculpt Interactive Music Synthesizer by Yiqi Zhao, designed for MIT Media Lab, has been granted the A' Design Award in the Digital Art category. The recognition forms part of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the A' Design Award Means
The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.
More About Sound Sculpt Interactive Music Synthesizer
Imagine a world where sound is sculpted by movement, creating a mesmerizing audio-visual landscape. SoundSculpt is an generative music tool that fuses spatial sound, motion, and visual art. Drawing inspiration from traditional sculpting, it empowers users to become central to their creative process. With AR Frames, head movements are captured and transformed into real-time audio modulation via a MIDI framework. Developed on runtime engine, SoundSculpt offers an immersive experience that blurs the lines between creator and creation, redefining artistic exploration.
About Yiqi Zhao
Yiqi Zhao, Product Design Lead at Meta Reality Labs, specializes in AI-driven spatial computing across Meta Quest products, cross-screen platforms, and wearables. Her team has delivered human-centric innovations, including the Meta Quest headsets and Horizon Ecosystem. With a research background at Harvard and MIT Media Lab, Yiqi began her 3D journey in brain-computer interfaces (EEG) and wearable AI. Previously, she led Unity’s platform initiatives, including the visionOS partnership for Apple Vision Pro. She also made her mark in the gaming sector by shipping Destiny 2. Yiqi’s vision shapes the future of immersive technologies by uniting XR and AI.
Award Record
With this recognition, Yiqi Zhao is a winner of 2 A' Design Awards. The awards were granted in the 2024 - 2025 edition of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Digital Art Award
The A' Digital Art Design Award is an international digital art competition recognizing good digital art by leading digital artists and designers worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to digital art designers, digital artists, graphic designers and illustrators from all countries. Typical entries include digital art, animations, illustrations, 3D models, digital paintings and vector artworks. The awarded digital art designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/digital-art
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/168315
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/168315
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!168315
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/364597
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.yiqizhao.design/
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Sound Sculpt Interactive Music Synthesizer
- Function
- Interactive Music Synthesizer
- Category
- Digital Art
- Discipline
- Communication Design
- Industry
- Arts and Entertainment
- Colors
- Slate Gray, Dim Gray, Light Slate Gray, Black and Midnight Blue
- Images
- 5
- Client
- MIT Media Lab
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Yiqi Zhao
- Country
- United States of America
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #168315
Credits
- Image Credits
- Yiqi Zhao, 2024.; Yiqi Zhao, 2024. Video Credits: Yiqi Zhao, 2024.
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Revolutionizing Perception through Immersive Music Making Imagine sculpting with sound, where body movement generates a mesmerizing audio visual landscape. SoundSculpt is an innovative, generative music tool that fuses spatial sound, motion, and visual art, redefining the boundaries of creative expression. By harnessing the power of Bose AR Frame, this interface enhances perception performance, providing a novel medium for artistic exploration, emotional regulation, and mental well being.
- Inspiration
- SoundSculpt is inspired by the tactile art of sculpting, where shaping materials evokes profound emotional expression. Echoing ancient pottery, where your hands transform raw material into art, SoundSculpt revolutionizes this dynamic by turning it inside out, empowering users to become integral to the creative process. By integrating spatial audio and visual art, I offer you an immersive experience that blurs the boundaries between creator and creation, redefining interaction for a new era.
- Research
- This HCI research aims to develop an immersive tool for emotion regulation. Using a mixed reality approach, data was collected via user testing and biometric feedback with Bose Glasses and Real-time 3D engine. Participants included designers and non-designers. Results showed enhanced perception of spatial volume, sound, and motion, with a more stable emotion stage. Insights suggest adoption in psychiatry with art therapy, impacting society by improving emotional well-being with playful creation.
- Challenge
- The hardest part was integrating multi sensory feedback into a seamless flow. Creatively, it was challenging to synchronize audio-visual elements with inputs in real-time. Internally, balancing human vulnerabilities, historical concepts with modern tech required innovative thinking. Externally, limitations in sensor accuracy and data processing posed obstacles. Overcoming these required iterative testing and leveraging cutting-edge XR technology to ensure fluid interaction and emotional impact.
- Realization and Technology
- SoundSculpt employs XR tech, integrating spatial audio and visual processing for immersive experiences. Bose Frames, with gyro sensors, capture 6 dof head movements, translating them into real-time audio modulation via a MIDI framework. Developed on Unity with C# scripts, it enables real-time user interaction. Mesh deformation and vertex manipulation allow dynamic bubble surface control, creating a responsive interface that enhances engagement and emotional connection.
- Operation and Interaction
- SoundSculpt immerses users within a virtual bubble, enabling them to shape its surface through intuitive gestures. As they tilt their heads or press buttons, Bose Frames capture these actions, converting them into dynamic audio-visual feedback. This interaction fosters a seamless cycle of "listen," "sculpt," and "art generation," empowering users to transform their environment. The system's innovative design ensures a fluid, captivating experience that boosts creativity and emotional well-being.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project began in fall 2019 at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, MA, and concluded in summer 2020. It was subsequently exhibited to the Bose Frame AR team at Bose Corporation in Framingham, MA.
- Specifications
- The system uses a MIDI framework to map Bose Frames' head orientation data to sound pitch and volume, then transferred to virtual bubble manipulation is achieved through touch inputs with C# scripts. The integration of synesthesia principles enhances sensory perception, creating a holistic flow that bridges the gap between physical and digital art forms. Size: 7.2 x 3.1 x 2.9 inches Weight: 12.31 ounces Lenses: Polarized Water Resistance: IPX2 rating Battery Life: Up to 5.5 hours Bluetooth Range: 30ft
- Keywords
- AI, generative AI, spatial audio, digital media, unity, music, wearable tech, Bose, XR, AR
