Designing Emotion Through Sound: In Partnership with Sound Designer Tommy Melville

The most exciting innovations happen when disciplines intersect. In partnership with sound designer Tommy Melville, Ideaworks is exploring how bespoke sound design can be woven into our systems to deliver unique, multi-sensory experiences.

We asked Tommy how sound design is transforming prime property and superyacht projects, and what clients should really know about this emerging field.

IW: Why is sound design so powerful in creating unique experiences for homeowners?

TM: As a sense, sound is incredibly potent in shaping human emotion, and how we feel in a particular place or space. Sound can make us feel happy, sad, calm or invigorated.

Research shows it’s so influential that specific sound frequencies change our perception of taste, and unpleasant noise even puts us at risk of developing diabetes. Integrating sound and interior design through Ideaworks is a truly innovative and exciting way to create immersive spaces, whether in a property or onboard a superyacht.

IW: Can you provide us with a few practical examples of how sound design can be applied?

TM: Sound design offers nearly limitless creative opportunities, providing an additional sensory layer to a property or superyacht interior. For example, integrating sound into a room featuring a digital canvas creates a unique immersive experience that can entirely change the feeling of a space. If your AV screen is showing a calming forest waterfall scene, why not include an accompanying soundtrack that brings the sound of water (and nature) into the room? In doing so, you can create incredible sensory experiences.

But I also love integrating sound into more prosaic, functional spaces… corridors, lifts and staircases all offer amazing opportunities to embed sound and create a sonic experience that flows through a property.

I have to emphasise that (for the most part) sound design should be used discreetly and appropriately. This isn’t about blasting people with noise for the sake of it, but more about creating a subtle, holistic sensory ambience.

IW: Can sound design affect and enhance wellbeing in a space?

TM: Absolutely, it can, and bespoke sound design is increasingly influential in the booming wellbeing market. Sound design can do everything from creating a generally positive ambience to enhancing a personal yoga practice and even aiding injury recovery.

A growing body of empirical evidence suggests that specific compositional techniques can impact human relaxation and emotions, as observed in their influence on taste perception. This makes acoustic design a truly innovative and exciting tool in the wellbeing space.

IW: You keep using the word ‘bespoke’. Can you tell us more about custom sound design?

TM: Part of what makes sound design so exciting for me is the bespoke opportunities it presents. Take the digital canvas waterfall scene mentioned earlier. You can bring that to life with preexisting sound from a standard audio library. Alternatively, the client might choose I make and include recordings of a favourite waterfall they hike to on holiday every summer. In doing the latter, you’ve created a unique piece of artwork that emotionally resonates with the customer and elevates the impact of both the sound and digital canvas.

I work closely with clients to produce bespoke music and sound that means their homes and yachts not only look amazing, but sound amazing too. This can be great for engendering a theatrical, unified sonic experience that might start on a yacht tender, for example, but then continue and evolve on the superyacht itself. It’s about using sound to create emotion and narrative.

IW: What misconceptions do people have about sound design?

TM: One notion that has occasionally surfaced is that sound design only appeals to audiophiles, and as a result, it is a very niche opportunity. Yet, sound impacts everyone hugely, and it only takes a quick demonstration to convince sceptics that sound can transform a space for anyone and everyone.

The other misconception is that a Spotify or Apple Music playlist is a good substitute for customised audio design. Yet, given everything we’ve seen about bespoke sound’s potential and applications, streaming playlists simply don’t suffice, especially in the luxury market.

IW: Why is the time right for sound design to make it mainstream?

TM: As everyone from brands and architects to the NHS looks to exploit its potential, acoustic design is becoming part of the common vernacular. In tandem, innovation and the advance of technology are making it possible for companies to bring sound design into the home. Ideaworks is pioneering the space, helping to create holistic sensory experiences by combining visuals with audio in the prime property and superyacht industries.

It’s clear from our conversation with Tommy that acoustic architecture isn’t simply about background music – it’s about shaping the way people feel in a space, discreetly and powerfully. From enhancing wellbeing to creating immersive experiences, it offers a unique way of adding depth and personalisation to any project.

Why It Matters to You

Sound is one of the most powerful tools to influence emotion, ambience, and well-being. Through our partnership with Tommy Melville, Ideaworks can integrate bespoke sound design into your home, yacht, or commercial space, creating seamless, premium, and tailored sensory experiences entirely tailored to you.