Angela Lee—Looking Outwards—04

“Weather Thingy,” designed by Adrien Kaeser controls musical instruments using real time climate-related events that are collected/measured by a rain gauge, wind vane, and anemometer. Users also have some control over the piece, and can choose to amplify or reduce some of the output through the device. What I enjoy about this piece is that it allows people to take in information through the sense of hearing. I also appreciate how the visual design was intuitive through its use of colors and form because it shows how he thoughtful he was in considering how the user would interact and perceive the device itself. As a design student, I’ve created data visualizations and know how challenging they are, and this reminds me of a data visualization but done in an audio form. I’m not sure how Kaeser structured his algorithm, but I think it would make sense if he had defined variables that helped determine how chaotic or serene the composition based on the climate in real time.