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Alarm Sound System–
One that gets you really OFF your bed
Designed by Kefan Lyu, Chienn Tai
Are you a snoozer? Personally, we are, we’d have the alarm set probably an hour prior to the designated time because we snooze the alarm a lot. While it is commonly agreed that this habit is not necessarily healthy and should be amended for long-term general well-being, we believe that having a system of sound family that tells you how urgent it is to wake up could be helpful in the face of an imminent situation.
Inspiration from the movie Inception, where there is a particular sound cue to wake people up from the dream. Whereas in reality, we don’t necessarily always have to distinguish ourselves from the somber state to the conscious one, it could be good to have a quasi-conditioned cue where we can determine whether we can keep on snoozing or we should definitely wake up.
The alarm set is designed to gradually and effectively wake people up by transitioning from pleasant and soothing melodies to alarming and uncomfortable sounds. It provides a unique and effective way to combat morning lethargy.
1. Soft Wake-Up
The first alarm begins with a gentle and harmonious tune, gradually increasing in volume. The flute pulls people back from their dreams and makes them less stressful.
Motif from Edward Greig: Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 “Morning Good” with variation adapted.
2. Morning Call
This alarm follows the soft wake-up by maintaining a calming vibe. It also introduces the second soft instrumental, classical guitar as base in track that encourages a gradual transition into wakefulness without causing any shocks.
Motif from Edward Greig: Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 “Morning Good” with variation adapted.
3. Energetic Rise
As people continue to snooze or ignore the previous alarms, the third alarm takes a more assertive approach with an upbeat tune, like a pop music intro, to motivate people to get out of bed.
Motif from Edward Greig: Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 “Morning Good” with variation adapted.
4. Rising Tension
The fourth alarm creates a shift towards discomfort. It incorporates suspenseful tones as the transition of two themes, increasing tension to encourage users to respond to the alarm as soon as possible.
Motif from Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D minor. But with an D major chord instead of D minor to create a transitional audio effect.
5. Horror Awakening
By this point, the waterphone turns up the intensity with unsettling sounds reminiscent of a horror movie soundtrack. It's designed to evoke a sense of urgency and discomfort, and it's getting hard for people to ignore the alarm.
Motif from Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D minor. With sound distortion and effect.
Motif from horror movie: Incantation (2022).
6. Last call
The last alarm is the most uncomfortable and jarring. It employs harsh sounds with amplifiers and filters, and at the same time, adds the sound of nails scraping the wall, which leaves people with no choice but to finally wake up and turn it off.