The Seattle Design Festival is a platform for bold design conversations. We believe that design is for everyone and that inclusive co-design practices are essential to shaping an equitable Seattle. We are multidisciplinary, socially engaged and civic minded.
76dB+ is an interactive sound installation that uses the phenomenon of audio feedback—a closed loop where a microphone captures and amplifies its own output—to explore the dangers of echo chambers, confirmation bias, and identity-driven conflict in contemporary society. Drawing parallels between acoustic distortion and social discourse, the installation invites participants to speak into one of seven microphones, where their voice is looped, distorted, and immediately played back, creating an unsettling version of self-amplification. These units surround a central chamber where all seven warped voices play simultaneously, forming a cacophony that mirrors a world saturated with unchecked opinion and self-reinforcing narratives. By turning each voice inward and stripping away the possibility of dialogue, 76dB+ becomes a sonic metaphor for a polarized culture where everyone speaks, no one listens, and noise replaces understanding. Through this immersive experience, the work challenges audiences to confront their own biases and consider the personal, social, and technological systems that amplify them—raising the critical question: when we only hear ourselves, are we truly saying anything at all?