Sound level measurement is used to assess sound within any environment, never more so than in hospitals. This is due to the negative effects that high sound level can have on patients and staff. However, other ways of exploring sound and the soundscape within the hospital context have been used: sound art has conveyed the experiences of heart transplant patients. Art may act as juxtaposition to objective sound level measurement but the two fundamentally attempt to depict attributes of the soundscape. Using theory from design and concepts from art a framework is presented for designing a positive soundscape experience. This is not through the addition of sound per-se but through creatively communicating the information contained within a soundscape to enable the everyday listener to interpret a cacophony of hospital sounds more positively. In representing visual communication of sound as a design object, a new way to explore sound may exist.
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