Design Talks: sound design, bringing emotion to function

Two creators come together

Gilles Vidal and Jean-Michel Jarre have known each other for several years. When, at the request of Luca de Meo, CEO of Renault Group, they got together to work on the sound design of Renault brand vehicles, their complicity grew stronger, fueled by their shared values of a design which is at the service of function and emotion.

For Gilles Vidal, the design mission serves as a starting point: “to improve the daily user experience and generate enthusiasm”. This guiding principle has to be applied to every stage of a vehicle’s design, including sound, which itself must be taken into account from the outset. At a time when users are increasingly communicating with their vehicles, design must “create a multi-sensory experience, tell a story and convey a message”. Accompanying this use with sound becomes essential.

For his part, Jean-Michel Jarre believes that by immersing humans in the driving experience, “the jobs of a designer and a composer have completely merged”. He points out that “the first of the senses that gives you a sensation of being immersed is hearing”. Sound design is therefore of paramount importance in today's vehicles.

Sound as a marker of brand identity

Naturally, the designers thought: what sounds should be created, and for what uses?  In consultation with Renault engineers, two key areas were identified.  The welcome sound, which is specific to each model (described below), and the VSP (Vehicule Sound Pedestrian), a mandatory audible warning that electric vehicles emit below 30km/h, which is found throughout the Renault's 100% electric range.

Gilles Vidal insists that this VSP sound must “respect the brand's identity and heritage, while bringing something new to it”. So, with Jean-Michel Jarre, they searched for “a certain freshness, a sharpness that also evokes a sense of care”. This balancing act was enthusiastically embraced by the musician, whose creativity is stimulated by complex challenges that demand great precision. He then developed a sound that evokes several things. First, a gentleness in line with the brand's emphasis on health and safety.  Then, a lightness of speed, which he drew from our collective consciousness, drawing inspiration from symbols of speed “such as the Star Wars ship, and its ability to glide through space”. And finally, a resolutely contemporary sound that echoes our ultra-connected world and the arrival of new technologies such as artificial intelligence.

The Renault 5 sound

The new Renault 5 E-Tech electric, designed for urban and suburban use, is a good match for this VSP sound. But as Gilles Vidal reminds us, the car must also have its own identity, which he defines as “pop”, drawn from “pop culture”. In today's context, this means “moving towards more sustainability and electric solutions that are affordable and accessible”. But in addition, the vehicle has to be attractive and sparkling. That's why Jean-Michel Jarre composed a special welcome sequence that is triggered when the driver sits behind the wheel. This sound reflects to the retro-futuristic identity of the car, using synthesizer tones evocative of the 80s, but in a contemporary setting. It is, in his words, “a way of bringing a dose of poetry to the driving experience”.

Concluding their discussion, the two designers agree that in today's environment, particularly in urban areas, the main objective of their collaboration is “to offer vehicles that don't add to noise pollution, while at the same time being easy to notice and to recognise”. The subtlety of sound design is “to give emotion to function, without making it too intrusive”. Jean-Michel Jarre concludes that “sound design sublimates the relationship between image and sound, because it is the ears that open the eyes”.