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 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
An app and physical experience that reintroduces native birdsong into the daily lives of city dwellers.
Urban Birdsong bridges this urban-nature divide through a multi-touchpoint ecosystem. A physical, immersive surround-sound pop-up in Aotea Square extended into daily routines via a mobile companion app featuring live-streamed sanctuary audio, bird-call alarms, and interactive conservation micro-learning.
Why this project?
Growing up in Auckland, some of my clearest memories are camping trips waking up to tūī, pīwakawaka, and the heavy wingbeat of a kererū overhead. At six, my family moved to Belgium and I remember genuinely missing those sounds, playing New Zealand forest recordings on YouTube when I felt homesick.
Years after having moved , I was struck by a tourist's reaction to seeing a tūī for the first time. Pure amazement. I remember thinking, 'that's a completely ordinary Tuesday for us'. It made me remember just how lucky we are, and how easily we take that magic for granted
Then I spent a night at a nature sanctuary near Mount Taranaki. The morning chorus was the loudest, most alive thing I'd ever heard. Coming back to Auckland's CBD for university, I'd walk to class and hear seagulls, pigeons, construction. The contrast felt wrong. So I started wondering…
Where does native birdsong belong in an increasingly urban New Zealand, and what do we lose when it disappears from daily life?
How might we reconnect Auckland's CBD dwellers with native birdsong so they feel calm and reflect on its scarcity in the city?
Discovery
Understanding the Soundscape
I began by immersing myself in Auckland's actual soundscape and documenting what I saw and heard: traffic, construction, introduced bird species, but rarely native calls.
The Audience
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
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 beyond the installation, integrating native birdsong into daily rituals like waking up or working, making the connection sustainable rather than a one-time experience.
Storyboarding
Pop-up sound dome
I mapped out both ideal and worst-case user journeys for the dome and app to identify environmental friction points and validate the emotional resonance of the experience.
Positive
Anna is numb to all the sounds in the CBD.
Spots the sound dome and grows curious.
Steps inside to investigate.
Pauses to enjoy the native chorus.
Reflects on what our city centres could sound like.
Leaves feeling calm and reconnected to nature.
Negative
Anna is numb to all the sounds in the CBD.
Spots the sound dome and grows curious.
Steps inside to investigate.
Expects birdsong, but traffic noise bleeds inside.
Finds the experience completely drowned out.
Leaves feeling frustrated by the disruption.
Key insights from storyboarding:
The core concept resonated with the feedback participants
The dome needed thick sound insulation to compete with CBD traffic noise
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."
What Testing Revealed
Paper wireframe testing uncovered critical navigation issues:
The map interface needed clearer visual hierarchy
Alarm settings required confirmation feedback
Brand Colour Palate
Inspired from the Tūī's iridescent blue-green plumage. As one of Aotearoa's most recognisable native birds in urban spaces, I chose it to represent the connection between city life and the natural world.
Sound Design
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 recorded binaural birdsong at three nature reserves, layering the recordings into a dynamic soundscape for the dome prototype and to test concepts for the app.
Visualizing Birdsong
How do you visualise birdsong without being literal? Inspired by the visible breath of birds on cold mornings, I developed a visual language of organic, flowing forms using Procreate's fire brush and filmed incense smoke.
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
Version 2 - Circular Dome
Problems identified:
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
Didn't use brand colors effectively
What this design improved
Stronger brand integration, with curved forms echoing the logo
Allows people to walk through if they do not want to stay long
Increased seating options
Integrates brand colours effectively
Illuminated so people can find their way without tripping
Feels more open and welcoming
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.
2. Urban Birdsong App
Extends the dome experience into daily life.
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 being able to wake up to live birdsong.
Feature 3
Bird Encyclopedia
Over half of test participants said that they didn't know what native birds sounded like. The bird encyclopedia allows them to hear their calls and learn interesting information and their habitats.
Feedback
8 of 9 testers
reported feeling calmer after experiencing the soundscape
3 of 9 testers
said they'd use the live sanctuary stream as part of their morning routine
7 of 9 testers
said they noticed the lack of native birdsong in the CBD more after engaging with the project
"I never used to really listen to birdsong while walking through the city, but after hearing about your project, I started noticing how few native birds we have in the city. I can recognise what a tūī sounds like now; I never really thought to learn before."
— Testing participant
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.
