Sound and Image Study

Due Date: Friday, October 25, 2025 (submitted to activity06 on Discord)

Overview

This activity will prepare you for Project 02, the capstone of Unit 2’s investigation into visual composition and audio design.

You will extend the work you began in Activity 04 (Composition Scavenger Hunt), and Activity 05 (Sonic Scavenger Hunt) by creating an experimental pairing of image and sound.

Rather than aiming for a polished final piece, treat this as a laboratory exercise: a chance to experiment with Photoshop, Illustrator, and Audition, and to test how design principles translate across media.

Objectives

  • Explore a principles of composition in both visual and audio design.
  • Practice technical workflow between Photoshop, Illustrator and Audition.
  • Explore how sound can shape the perception of an image, and vice versa.
  • Begin the iterative refinement process that will lead into Project 02.

Part 1: Select and Plan

  1. Choose one image from your Activity 04 Composition Scavenger Hunt.
  2. Listen to the sounds you collected in Activity 05.
  3. Ask yourself:
    • what mood or energy or vibe connects the image and sounds?
    • what might this image sound like?
    • what story or emotion would emerge if they were combined?
  4. WRITE: 2-3 sentences describing the relationship you want to explore.

Part 2: Build a Soundscape (Audition)

  1. Open Audition.
  2. Import 3-6 of your scavenged sounds.
  3. Arrange and layer them into a 10-20 second soundscape that reflects your chosen image.
  4. Experiment with
    • amplitude (loud vs soft)
    • frequency (high vs low tones)
    • rhythm & tempo (patterns of time)
    • reverb & space (distance, room size)
    • dynamics & contrast (changes over time)
  5. EXPORT: as .wav or .mp3; SAVE the Audition project file.

Part 3 – Recompose The Composition (Photoshop -> Illustrator)

  1. In Photoshop, open your chosen image.
  2. Use the skills you learned in Lab 4.5 to select + mask + export 3-5 key elements of the image (objects, figures, shapes).
    • Export each as a transparent .png.
  3. In Illustrator, create a new artboard (width: 1080px, height: 1080px).
  4. Place your exported elements and re-compose the scene.
    • Add geometric primitives, typography, or new colors.
    • Emphasize one or two design principles (balance, contrast, hierarchy, rhythm, depth).
    • Aim for visual rhythm or tension that parallels your soundscape.
  5. EXPORT as a .png; SAVE your Photoshop and Illustrator project files.

Part 4 – Reflect

Write a short paragraph (150-350 words), explaining what you actually did: the choices, steps, and reasoning behind them. Use plain language; imagine you’re explaining your workflow to a classmate who missed the lab.

You might address:

  • How you built your soundscape:
    • What sounds did you combine?
    • How did you decide their order, volume, or rhythm?
    • What effects did you use, if any? (Fade, reverb, panning, et c.)
  • What you changed:
    • What parts of the original image did you export, remove, or rearrange?
    • What edits did you make in Photoshop / Illustrator?
  • How sound and image relate to each other:
    • Did one influence the other?
    • How does the timing or texture of the sound align with the layout or color choics?
  • What you learned:
    • Was anything easier or harder than you expected?
    • What would you change if you did another version?

Avoid generic phrases like “I liked how it looked” or “it felt right”; be specific. What did you like about how it looked? When you say it felt right: how so? What does it mean to feel right?

Consider using verbs that describe decisions: cropped, layered, balanced, matched; and also, consider, you could have done it a different way; why did you do it that way?

Deliverable

Link to a research folder containing:

  • raw image folder:
    • original image from Activity 04
  • raw audio folder:
    • raw audio from Activity 05 (+ any other audio you decide to use in this activity)
  • project file folder:
    • Photoshop project file (.psd)
    • Illustrator project file (.ai)
    • Audition project file (.asx)
  • work files:
    • exported pngs from step 3
    • any and all drafts produced along the way of your soundscape or visual composition
  • final export:
    • soundscape (in mp3 or wav format)
    • final export from step 3
  • notes:
    • your reflection from step 4