Design Considerations for Automatic Musical Soundscapes of Visual Art for People with Blindness or Low Vision

TL;DR

This paper explores automated soundscape systems to improve accessibility of visual art for blind or low vision individuals, highlighting design considerations and evaluating aesthetic experiences through a qualitative study.

Contribution

It introduces a prototype system for automated soundscapes and identifies key design considerations based on user feedback, advancing accessible art experiences.

Findings

Automated soundscapes can enhance aesthetic experience for BLV users.

Design considerations are crucial for developing effective soundscape systems.

Qualitative feedback informs future development of accessible visual art interfaces.

Abstract

Music has been identified as a promising medium to enhance the accessibility and experience of visual art for people who are blind or have low vision (BLV). However, composing music and designing soundscapes for visual art is a time-consuming, resource intensive process - limiting its scalability for large exhibitions. In this paper, we investigate the use of automated soundscapes to increase the accessibility of visual art. We built a prototype system and ran a qualitative study to evaluate the aesthetic experience provided by the automated soundscapes with 10 BLV participants. From the study, we identified a set of design considerations that reveal requirements from BLV people for the development of automated soundscape systems, setting new directions in which creative systems could enrich the aesthetic experience conveyed by these.