I recently got a dog which always barks when someone rings the doorbell. I live in an apartment building and therefore I'm afraid of disturbing my neighbors every time someone shows up.
This got me thinking if it's really necessary for a doorbell to make such an irritating sound that sets my dog off on a frenzy. Doorbells have evolved over the years from being pure sound producers, to also being cameras, to being an app on your mobile device.
Having the doorbell on my phone probably wouldn't make my dog bark, but I'm not a fan of excessive disturbances from my phone. I already have most notifications turned off. So instead of approaching this project from a convenience point of view I wanted to approach it with playfulness and from the idea that a doorbell is an object, not only "a sound".
Ding Dong is a lo-fi arrival announcing machine. Rather than producing a high pitched sound you can hear over loud music or when watching TV I propose aesthetically pleasing door"bells". One that flashes a light, one that produces a smoke signal (and could be infused with scent like lavender or lemon), and one that creates a tambourine sound by mechanically moving tambourine jingles back and forth.
It's for parents with young children, for the hearing impaired, for dog owners and for those that simply want to be left alone.
Materials: Icelandic poplar, plywood, acrylic, PLA, water, light, instrument parts, technology.
This project was made for Hæ/Hi Vol III | Welcome.
Hæ/Hi is a group of designers from Seattle and Reykjavík. For every exhibition we work from a collective theme and this year it was the entrance of a home.
https://haehidesign.com/