The colour of music: Interactive site expresses synaesthesia

California – Designer Jono Brandel and Japanese music duo Lullatone wanted to create a digital expression of synaesthesia, the neurological condition where one sense triggers another. The result is Patatap, an interactive musical instrument that combines touch, sound, animation and music to create wondrous sensory overload.

Patatap harnesses a computer's keyboard to create musical notes that are linked to animations. As people type, the screen is filled with colours and lines while different synth beats play in response to each letter keyed in. The experience creates a soundscape, visualising music through type, and lets users switch between colour palettes and sounds simply by pressing the space bar.

‘The motivation behind Patatap is to introduce the medium of visual music to a broad audience,’ Brandel explains on his website. ‘Patatap invites creators of all ages to engage the mind and senses in a different type of creation process.’

You can have a go at Patatap yourself in the interactive video above. For more on designers exploring expressions of synaesthesia, see the Synaesthetics section of The Convergence Economy macrotrend.