Pling! Sound and Design
Design appeals to all our senses. Hearing is increasingly coming into focus, but it is not limited to the sense of hearing alone. After all, we also hear with our eyes and see with our ears. The exhibition Pling! Sound and Design at the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, running from 22 May to 20 September 2026, demonstrates how these senses interact.
Spanning seven chapters, the exhibition explores sound – from noise and the study of acoustic phenomena to melodious sounds. Through projects in design, architecture, research and art, it demonstrates how hearing enables a broader understanding of design and opens up new ways of engaging with our designed environment.
Sound, Tone, Noise
Before sound can be designed, we must first understand what it is we actually hear. Disciplines such as bioacoustics, sound studies and artistic research explore what sound, tone or noise is and how they shape us socially. Sound can evoke a sense of well-being, but it can also be perceived as noise or a warning – a distinction that is central to fields such as architecture. Product design showcases the spectrum from musical instruments and playback devices to hearing aids. And inclusive design highlights how new acoustic solutions can be created for people with hearing impairments.
Curator Meret Ernst emphasises that, in an era of increasingly densely populated cities and automated communication, the acoustic quality of spaces and objects plays a decisive role, and that design is faced more than ever with the task of consciously shaping sound.
Hearing as an Experience
The exhibition brings to life what often resonates unconsciously in everyday life. An audio track moves regularly through the space, a piano jukebox from the Institute of Computer Sound and Technology plays contemporary sound experiments, the Synkie installation combines video images and sound, and a SoundCam records sounds live. In the Listening Room, visitors can choose from three playlists and experience high-end audio. In the Swiss Design Collection studio, visitors can play with sounds and fold their own paper sound memo game to take home.
