Scenic Audio
AI-powered spatial audio that transforms car journeys into immersive narrative experiences for visually impaired passengers—designing beyond the screen.
Honda
2024
AI/ML, Spatial Audio, Invisible Interface
Group Creative Director
Spatial Audio Design, Invisible Interface, Hardware Integration, AI/ML Systems, Accessibility Innovation
18 months
CES Innovation Award, IDSA Gold, Cannes Lions Grand Prix, D&AD Yellow Pencil
User satisfaction
Active users
Innovation awards
Who We Designed For
Visually impaired passengers and their families seeking inclusive travel experiences
Visually Impaired Passengers
Individuals who want to feel connected to the world passing by during car journeys
Family Members
Drivers and sighted passengers who want to share scenic moments with loved ones
Accessibility Advocates
Organizations like Perkins School for the Blind championing inclusive technology
Designing Beyond the Screen
The automotive industry has spent decades perfecting dashboard interfaces—touchscreens, voice commands, haptic feedback. But for 285 million visually impaired people worldwide, these innovations don't exist. We saw an opportunity not to adapt existing interfaces, but to invent an entirely new category: the invisible interface.
"What if the best interface is no interface at all?"
Research & Discovery
We partnered with Perkins School for the Blind to understand how visually impaired passengers experience travel—and where current solutions fail them.
Spatial Experience Mapping
Rode along on 40+ journeys to understand how visually impaired passengers construct mental models of their surroundings. We discovered they build rich spatial awareness through sound, motion, and temperature—senses the car industry ignores.
Audio Interface Audit
Evaluated existing audio-first interfaces from screen readers to automotive assistants. The gap: they treat audio as a fallback for visual, not as a primary design medium with its own grammar and possibilities.
Spatial Audio Research
Explored how 3D audio positioning, binaural rendering, and adaptive soundscapes could create presence and orientation—turning the car cabin into an immersive listening environment.
Key Insights
Traditional accessibility adapts visual interfaces for non-visual use. We discovered that the breakthrough comes from designing natively for sound—treating audio not as accommodation, but as innovation.
- Spatial audio creates orientation—directional cues help passengers understand where they are in relation to passing landmarks
- Adaptive pacing transforms information into narrative—speed, time of day, and context should shape not just what is said, but how
- Invisible interfaces reduce cognitive load for everyone—sighted passengers also preferred audio descriptions to looking away from conversation
- Hardware integration is essential—the car's speaker system becomes the interface itself
The Invisible Interface
We designed a system with no screens, no buttons, no visual affordances. Spatial audio positions sounds in 3D space around the passenger. AI-generated narrative adapts its tone, pacing, and detail to speed and context. The car's speaker array becomes the interface—surrounding passengers with evocative descriptions that make the invisible world visible through sound.
Accessibility as Innovation
Scenic Audio launched in partnership with Perkins School for the Blind—but the impact extends beyond accessibility. By designing without screens, we created an experience that sighted passengers also choose. Parents driving with children. Commuters who want to look up from their phones. Anyone who wants to be present in the journey rather than watching it pass. This is the thesis: designing for accessibility doesn't constrain innovation—it pioneers it.
"The constraints of designing for accessibility didn't limit us—they forced us to invent something new."
“They didn't adapt a screen interface for blind users—they invented something entirely new. This is what designing for accessibility should look like: not accommodation, but innovation.”