Urban Birdsong
Reconnecting highly urban New Zealanders with native birdsong through audio experiences
Context
AUT Solo Student Project
Tools
Figma, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Audition, Adobe Lightroom, Miro, Blender, Procreate
Timeframe
12 weeks (2025)
Role
UX / Interaction Designer
Researcher
Sound Designer
Visual Designer
3D Modeler
The Problem
Native birdsong is scarce in Auckland's CBD, disconnecting New Zealanders from their cultural heritage.
While native birds are central to Aotearoa's identity, embedded in songs, stories, and even our national symbol, most Aucklanders only hear seagulls, pigeons, and sparrows in the city center. With 82% of New Zealand bird species facing risk of extinction, this absence represents both an ecological crisis and a cultural loss.
The Solution
Native birdsong is scarce in Auckland's CBD, disconnecting New Zealanders from their cultural heritage.
While native birds are central to Aotearoa's identity, embedded in songs, stories, and even our national symbol, most Aucklanders only hear seagulls, pigeons, and sparrows in the city center. With 82% of New Zealand bird species facing risk of extinction, this absence represents both an ecological crisis and a cultural loss.
The Problem
Native birdsong is scarce in Auckland's CBD, disconnecting New Zealanders from their cultural heritage.
While native birds are central to Aotearoa's identity, embedded in songs, stories, and even our national symbol, most Aucklanders only hear seagulls, pigeons, and sparrows in the city center. With 82% of New Zealand bird species facing risk of extinction, this absence represents both an ecological crisis and a cultural loss.
How might we reconnect Auckland's CBD dwellers with native birdsong so they feel calm and reflect on its scarcity in the city?
Research & Discovery
Secondary Research: Building the Foundation
I began by immersing myself in Auckland's actual soundscape. Walking through Albert Park, Cornwall Park, Aotea Square, and Queen Street, I documented what I heard: traffic, construction, introduced bird species, but rarely native calls.
I then visited Wellington where I documented the soundscape and interviewed locals.
Secondary Research: Building the Foundation
I began by immersing myself in Auckland's actual soundscape. Walking through Albert Park, Cornwall Park, Aotea Square, and Queen Street, I documented what I heard: traffic, construction, introduced bird species, but rarely native calls.
I then visited Wellington where I documented the soundscape and interviewed locals.
Secondary Research: Building the Foundation
I began by immersing myself in Auckland's actual soundscape. Walking through Albert Park, Cornwall Park, Aotea Square, and Queen Street, I documented what I heard: traffic, construction, introduced bird species, but rarely native calls.
I then visited Wellington where I documented the soundscape and interviewed locals.
Secondary Research: Building the Foundation
I began by immersing myself in Auckland's actual soundscape. Walking through Albert Park, Cornwall Park, Aotea Square, and Queen Street, I documented what I heard: traffic, construction, introduced bird species, but rarely native calls.
I then visited Wellington where I documented the soundscape and interviewed locals.
Secondary Research: Building the Foundation
I began by immersing myself in Auckland's actual soundscape. Walking through Albert Park, Cornwall Park, Aotea Square, and Queen Street, I documented what I heard: traffic, construction, introduced bird species, but rarely native calls.
I then visited Wellington where I documented the soundscape and interviewed locals.
Field research revealed:
Native birds were scarce in CBD areas
Wellington's urban areas had thriving native choruses (due to conservation efforts like Zealandia)
The contrast highlighted Auckland's missed opportunity
Secondary Research: Building the Foundation
I began by immersing myself in Auckland's actual soundscape. Walking through Albert Park, Cornwall Park, Aotea Square, and Queen Street, I documented what I heard: traffic, construction, introduced bird species, but rarely native calls.
I then visited Wellington where I documented the soundscape and interviewed locals.
Research & Discovery
Secondary Research: Building the Foundation
I began by immersing myself in Auckland's actual soundscape. Walking through Albert Park, Cornwall Park, Aotea Square, and Queen Street, I documented what I heard: traffic, construction, introduced bird species, but rarely native calls.
I then visited Wellington where I documented the soundscape and interviewed locals.
Field research revealed:
Native birds were scarce in CBD areas
Wellington's urban areas had thriving native choruses (due to conservation efforts like Zealandia)
The contrast highlighted Auckland's missed opportunity
Understanding the Soundscape
I began by immersing myself in Auckland's actual soundscape. Walking through Albert Park, Cornwall Park, Aotea Square, and Queen Street, I documented what I saw and heard: traffic, construction, introduced bird species, but rarely native calls.
To validate my observations, I conducted informal interviews with 6 Aucklanders who work or live in the CBD. Their responses revealed something crucial: the scarcity had become normalised.
"I didn't even realise how quiet it was until you pointed it out. I just thought that's what the city sounds like."
— Interview session participant
"Hearing the tūī made me remember camping as a kid. I forgot how much I missed that sound."
— Interview session participant
A trip to Wellington provided a powerful comparison point. Within 10 minutes of arriving in the city centre, I heard multiple tūī and fantails, species rarely heard in Auckland's CBD.
Field research revealed:
Native birds were scarce in CBD areas
Wellington's urban areas had thriving native choruses (due to conservation efforts like Zealandia)
The contrast highlighted Auckland's missed opportunity for cultural and ecological reconnection
Meet Anna Lee
I created a persona based on my research and interviews to represent my target audience: young urban professionals who value nature but are time-poor and disconnected from daily contact with native species.
Age
23
Occupation
Barista
Location
Auckland CBD
Income
Low
Anna Lee
Background
Anna moved to Auckland five years ago for work and lives in a small CBD apartment. She grew up in a smaller New Zealand town where native birds were more common. While she values New Zealand's natural heritage and considers herself environmentally conscious, her busy urban lifestyle leaves little time for connecting with nature.
Goals & Motivations
Wants peaceful moments of nature in her busy city life.
Wants ways to destress during lunch breaks or when the shop is quiet.
Seeks unique experiences that make her feel more connected to Auckland’s identity
Frustrations
The CBD feels noisy, concrete, and disconnected from native NZ nature.
Lacks nearby places that feel restorative without leaving the city.
Struggles to find “quiet moments” in her day.
Needs
Quick, accessible experiences that fit into lunch breaks (15-30 minutes)
Learning about species without feeling overwhelmed or lectured
Anna helped me understand that the solution needed to:
Fit into busy CBD routines (lunch breaks, commutes)
Provide emotional value
Require minimal effort to experience
Finding the Right Approach
Initial concepts focused heavily on conservation messaging and biodiversity data. However, feedback revealed something crucial: people didn't want to be lectured, they wanted to feel something.
This insight from user feedback shifted my approach from educational to experiential. Instead of telling people about the problem, I would let them experience the absence and imagine what could be.
Why a Sound Dome + App?
The dome creates a stark, undeniable contrast between urban noise and native birdsong. By physically stepping inside, users commit to the experience, unlike a poster they might ignore.
The app extends that moment beyond the installation, integrating native birdsong into daily rituals like waking up or working, making the connection sustainable rather than a one-time experience.
I considered other formats (AR, projection mapping, print media) but sound as the primary medium allowed for the most emotionally direct experience; you can't look away from what you hear.
Storyboarding
Pop-up sound dome
To test whether my concepts would work in real-world scenarios, I created storyboards mapping both ideal and problematic user experiences for the dome and app. These visual narratives helped me identify friction points and gather feedback on whether the experience would resonate emotionally.
Positive
Anna is numb to all the sounds in Auckland CBD
She sees dome with a sign outside saying “Live birdsong” and gets curious
Anna goes to check out the dome and hears birdsong
Anna sits and enjoys the chorus of the birds for a while
She ponders whether Auckland could sound like this
She feels calmer and briefly more connected to nature
Negative
Anna is numb to all the sounds in Auckland CBD
She sees dome with a sign outside saying “Live birdsong” and gets curious
Anna goes to check out the dome but just hears construction from the city
Anna waits to hear some birdsong but it is drowned out by the noise
She gets frustrated because she doesn’t hear the birdsong
She feels annoyed at wasting time
Key insights from storyboarding:
The core concept resonated with the feedback participants
The dome needed thick sound insulation to compete with CBD traffic noise
The app required a signal indicator to manage expectations about live streaming
Visual Design & Development
Low-Fidelity Prototyping
I created paper wireframes for all major app flows (home screen, live map, alarms, soundscape creation) and recruited peers to walk through common tasks like "set an alarm with your favorite bird" or "create a custom soundscape."
Key insights from user testing:
PUT KEY INSINGHTS HERE
PUT KEY INSINGHTS HERE
PUT KEY INSINGHTS HERE
What Testing Revealed
8/10 participants reported feeling "calmer" after listening for 2+ minutes
The app required a signal indicator to manage expectations about live streaming
What Testing Revealed
Paper wireframe testing uncovered critical navigation issues:
The map interface needed clearer visual hierarchy
Alarm settings required confirmation feedback
Visual Exploration Under Time Constraints
With only 12 weeks, I needed to test visual directions for the app quickly before committing to full execution. I used AI as a rapid prototyping tool, feeding it moodboards and wireframes to generate multiple visual style options in minutes rather than days.
I then user preference tested four options with 8 participants, asking them to rank the designs from most to least preferred.
Illustrated
B. NZ Native Birds
C. NZ Native Forest
D. Soundwaves
The winning direction
Users overwhelmingly preferred abstract sound visualisation (Option B) combined with subtle accents of forest imagery. The abstract approach aligned with the project's poetic, experiential intent rather than didactic education.
Brand Colour Pallate
The color palette drew from the Tūī's iridescent blue-green plumage, a bird that bridges urban and native environments, making it symbolically perfect.
Sound Design & Visualization
Capturing Birdsong
Initially, I wanted live audio feeds for both the dome and app. Field testing revealed this wouldn't work for the dome as wind, rain, and inconsistent audio quality could disrupt the experience.
I visited three locations to capture binaural recording with a shotgun mic and H4nPro recorder to then layer to create a dynamic soundscape for the dome prototype and to use as test of consepts for the app.
Visualizing Birdsong
This feedback sent me back to the drawing board. How do you represent birdsong visually without being literal?
I remembered seeing images of birdsong captured as visible breath in winter air, the condensation created when birds sing in cold temperatures creates ephemeral, cloud-like mist.
This became the visual language: organic, flowing forms that pulse with the rhythm of birdsong, abstract enough to be meditative, but rooted in a real natural phenomenon.
I experimented with Procreate's fire brush and filmed incense smoke to capture that organic, flowing quality.
The Dome Design
The dome design went through significant iterations based on user feedback. I started by preference testing four different concepts with 8 participants:
A. See the forest while hearing native birdsong
B. See the city while hearing native birdsong
C. See light installation while hearing native birdsong.
D. See Nothing while hearing native birdsong.
Users preferred the abstract light installation (Option C). They didn't want literal forest or bird projections, they wanted something meditative that supported the audio without competing for attention.
They especially noted that they wanted it to be dark inside.
Version 1 - Rectangular Room:
I created a first 3D mockup of the sound experience in Blender and user tested responses with 5 participants.
Problems identified:
Didn't use brand colors effectively
A shared entrance and exit makes the experience more intimate, but could create congestion.
Felt more like a clinical space than a natural retreat
Users noted that they might not be able to see where they were going because it would be too dark
Users wanted something more eurgonomic / natural looking.
Version 2 - Circular Dome (Final):
Iterating based on feedback I created a mockup of the final design that I then confirmed was good with my users before creating the final render in Blender.
Why it worked:
Stronger brand integration with curved forms echoing the logo
People can walk through if they don't want to stay long
Increased seating options
Integrates brand colours effectively
Light so people can find their way without tripping
Feels more open and welcoming
The Final Solution
1. Pop-Up Soundscape Dome
The dome would sit in Aotea Square for a month each July, timed after the winter ice rink, when fewer birds are active in the city, making the contrast more striking.
IMAGE PLACEMENT: App screens showing map, Tūī page, and alarm settings
2. Companion App
Extends the dome experience into daily life through live-streamed sanctuary audio, customizable alarms, and educational content.
Feature 1
Live Birdsong Streaming
The most requested feature from user testing. Users can listen to live audio feeds from New Zealand nature sanctuaries in real-time.
The interface displays the current bird species detected and weather conditions.
Feature 2
Birdsong Alarms
Want to wake up to birdsong every morning? You're not alone. Many test participants were exited about ebing able to wake up to live birdsong.
A sync alarm to sunrise feature makes it so you won't miss the morning chorus.
Feature 3
Bird Encyclopedia
Over half of my users said that they didn't know what the native birds sounded like. The bird encyclopedia allows them to hear their calls and learn interesting information and their habitats.
Impact
85%
of participants felt calmer after the soundscape
9/10
users wanted the alarm feature in their actual phone
100%
became more aware of Auckland's soundscape
"After hearing about your project, I started noticing how quiet my walk to work actually is."
— Testing participant
Reflection
What worked
Sound proved to be a powerful medium for emotional connection. Combining physical and digital experiences strengthened engagement and extended the project beyond a single moment.
Field research is irreplaceable. Visiting Wellington, recording in sanctuaries, sitting in Albert Park—these firsthand experiences shaped decisions no amount of desk research could.
What didn’t
Learning multiple new tools simultaneously limited time for refinement. Technical constraints in Figma restricted interaction complexity.
What I’d do differently
I would collaborate earlier with spatial or sound engineers and narrow the technical scope to allow deeper polish. I would also prioritise broader public testing beyond an academic environment.
Personal Growth
This project pushed me far outside my comfort zone, learning 3D modeling, binaural recording, and sound design in 12 weeks was intense. But it reinforced something important: the best design work happens when you deeply care about the problem.
That moment recording the dawn chorus at Rotokare, waking at 4am, moving silently through the forest, hearing (and seeing!) a kiwi, reminded me why this matters. Native birdsong isn't just sound. It's connection to place, to culture, to something older and more resilient than concrete and traffic.
Due to ethical restrictions, feedback was limited to Auckland University of Technology (AUT), which posed a limitation as peers and lecturers already had prior knowledge of my project and UX principles, unlike my target audience
