What Need Angel

Peter Crnokrak is a Berlin based computational and digital designer who utilises design language to communicate meaning in complex systems with work integrating research, analysis and experimental technologies.

What Need Angel is a synesthetic transcription of the brainwave response of a five-year-old boy while listening to music. The project aims to develop a systematic methodology that allows for primal biological experiences to be visualised to facilitate the understanding of the emotional responses to stimuli.

The computational video uses dynamic particle animation segments that are woven together to form a seamless, though at times jarring, reflection of the music listening experience. Particle behaviours such as size, speed, colour, and direction of movement are all determined by the user’s passive brainwave responses to music stimuli.

Crnokrak's work has been featured in over 100 books and magazines and has been exhibited internationally including Tokyo, London, Los Angeles, and New York. In 2010, Crnokrak was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in recognition of award-winning expertise in design and data visualisation.