Sonify

In an era dominated by visual media, a pioneering newsroom initiative is redefining how we consume information through sound. Drawing from the groundbreaking work of Sonify and its innovative TwoTone app, this exploration illuminates how data storytelling is evolving - transforming reams of numerical information into compelling auditory narratives. Alongside its technological developments, the initiative illuminates crucial lessons about accessibility, user experience, and the collaborative potential between technical innovation and human creativity. Together, these advancements offer journalists, artists, and technologists powerful new tools to tackle the challenges of data-driven storytelling in the 21st century.

From Film to AI: The Evolution of Hugh McGrory's Creative Vision

From film and photography to virtual reality and artificial intelligence, Hugh McGrory has shaped the evolving landscape of media production. His work at Sonify, where he serves as Co-Founder and leads the company's vision, stands at the intersection of data sonification, sound design, and emerging technologies.

The company's approach to data storytelling emerged from Hugh's broader mission to enhance rather than replace traditional creative processes. This philosophy is reflected in Sonify's diverse portfolio, which includes roles in the Knight Foundation's "Data For Civic Engagement" initiative and partnerships with organizations ranging from the United Nations to local newsrooms in Wichita, Kansas.

Under McGrory's leadership, Sonify has developed an innovative rapid-prototype model that encourages experimentation and iterative improvement. The company's recent projects highlight its commitment to practical applications of emerging technologies, as evidenced by the development of QR Date for real-time data verification and the successful implementation of TwoTone, an open-source web app that transforms charts and graphs into musical compositions.

At its core, Sonify's work aims to bridge the gap between technical innovation and human creativity. As the company continues to explore new frontiers in audio storytelling, its efforts represent a significant step toward making data-driven information more accessible and engaging for diverse audiences.

Cristian Vogel's Musical Innovation: From Radiohead to Data Sonification

Cristian Vogel's work with Radiohead and his development of TwoTone stand at the intersection of music production and data sonification. His background spans music production for major artists including Radiohead and Thom Yorke, as well as technological innovation through his work with companies like Ekometic and NeverEngineLabs.

In 2019, Vogel joined forces with Hugh and Debra McGrory to co-found Sonify, where he serves as Chief Technology Officer. Together, they developed TwoTone, an open-source web app that revolutionizes how data is converted into music. This tool enables users to transform charts and graphs into musical compositions through an intuitive interface that supports both beginners and experienced users.

TwoTone's capabilities extend beyond basic data sonification, offering MIDI output and support for up to 16 simultaneous channels. The app's development was backed by the Google News Initiative, demonstrating its potential impact on journalism and data storytelling. Since its launch, TwoTone has facilitated numerous innovative projects, including the Knight Foundation's "Data for Civic Engagement" initiative in Wichita, Kansas.

In these projects, TwoTone has proven particularly effective when combined with human narration and additional context. For instance, when used to represent political data from the Kansas Legislature, raw sonification alone proved challenging for blind and visually impaired advisors to interpret. By adding voice narration and instrumental legends to explain data relationships, these projects achieved breakthroughs in accessible data storytelling.

The app's flexibility has enabled diverse applications, from highlighting trends in baby boomer representation in state politics to exploring the complexities of sainthood recognition in American Catholicism. Through these experiences, newsrooms have developed best practices for integrating data sonification with traditional audio storytelling techniques, demonstrating the potential for this technology to transform how we consume and understand data-driven information.

The TwoTone Web App:Making Data Accessible through Musical Patterns

The TwoTone web app operates as a standalone browser-based service, requiring no installation or specialized software. Developed over the course of two years, from 2017 to 2019, the app represents a collaboration between Sonify and the Google News Initiative. Its development draws on the company's expertise in both traditional audio production and emerging technological tools, particularly data sonification techniques.

The app runs entirely within modern web browsers, utilizing standard technologies for maximum accessibility and ease of use. This browser-based approach reduces technical barriers for users while enabling extensive collaboration across different computing environments. The app's development process involved iterative refinement based on real-world usage scenarios, particularly in partnership with newsrooms and community organizations across the United States.

One of TwoTone's key strengths lies in its ability to convert complex data sets into musical form through an automated algorithm. This automated process enables quick turnaround times for data-driven content creation, crucial for newsroom applications where rapid prototyping is often necessary. However, users retain significant creative control through features that allow custom instrument selection and multi-channel audio outputs.

The app's support for simultaneous MIDI channels (up to 16) enables sophisticated layering of musical elements directly within the sonification process. This capability stands in contrast to earlier approaches that required manual coding or specialized technical expertise to implement multi-channel audio functionality. Sonify's design philosophy emphasizes accessibility alongside technical power, as evidenced by the app's support for both novice and experienced users through an intuitive interface.

Following its 2019 launch, TwoTone quickly demonstrated its practical utility in professional settings. The app's first major deployment came through partnerships with local newsrooms in Wichita, Kansas, under the broader auspices of the Knight Foundation's "Data for Civic Engagement" initiative. These initial implementations showcased the app's potential to transform static data visualizations into engaging auditory experiences, particularly when combined with human narration and additional contextual information.

Early user feedback highlighted the challenges of purely sonic data representation, particularly for audiences including blind and visually impaired listeners. Newsroom teams working closely with these user groups developed innovative solutions, including incorporating voice narration to explain instrumental patterns and relationships within the data. These adaptations demonstrate how TwoTone serves as a platform for iterative improvement in both technical and usability terms.

The app's development has continued to evolve through partnerships with academic institutions and research organizations. Work with the Envision Research Institute in Wichita has led to significant refinements in how TwoTone app output can be effectively combined with human narration and additional audio elements. These ongoing developments suggest that TwoTone represents a continually evolving toolset for data sonification, positioned to influence both professional and educational approaches to data storytelling.

Bringing Data to Life: Sonify and the Kansas Legislature

The Data-Driven Storytelling initiative launched in Wichita, Kansas, emerged from a year-long partnership between Sonify, the Wichita Community Foundation, and the Envision Research Institute. The Knight Foundation selected the project as one of seven national recipients of their "Data For Civic Engagement Challenge," each receiving $140,000 in funding to develop innovative approaches to making civic data accessible.

The project brought together three local newsroom teams with fifteen advisors from the blind and visually impaired community to create audio podcasts featuring data sonification. Chris Green, Managing Editor of The Journal, initially approached the project from a text-based perspective, finding himself unexpectedly drawn to the potential of podcasting. His team's first attempt used TwoTone, Sonify's open-source web app that converts data into music, to represent trends in Kansas Legislature membership.

However, the project faced an early challenge: blind and visually impaired advisors struggled to understand the purely sonic representation of the data. To address this, the team developed innovative solutions, adding voice narration to explain the meaning of each instrument. Green assigned specific musical roles to represent different demographic groups, using a double bass to track years, a violin for baby boomers, an electric guitar for Generation X, and a marimba for Millennials.

This pioneering approach revealed valuable insights into accessible data storytelling. The advisors found the narration energizing and recognized it as a breakthrough technique that combined the strengths of sonification and human narration. This experience led Green to see potential for integrating podcasting and sonification in future projects.

Following these initial successes, Sonify continued to refine their approach through ongoing partnerships and research. In a subsequent project examining the process of canonization in American Catholicism, the team adapted a magazine story about Father Emil Kapaun, a candidate for sainthood. They utilized TwoTone to highlight the paths of two recognized saints, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. John Neumann, while incorporating additional data on American saints through carefully structured layering.

These projects demonstrated the growing capabilities of TwoTone and sonification techniques. The development process highlighted the importance of iterative refinement, with monthly feedback sessions from advisors driving continuous improvements in both technical implementation and user experience. The success of these initiatives provided compelling evidence of sonification's potential to transform how we communicate complex data through accessible, engaging audio storytelling.

Training the Next Generation of Data Storytellers

Sonify's training programs take a practical, hands-on approach to audio storytelling, with masterclasses ranging from one-off sessions to in-depth programs. The company has conducted these workshops in multiple locations, including Wichita, Kansas; The New School; and Luxembourg's EU headquarters. Their most recent masterclass took place at Stanford University, while upcoming plans include a program at Screen Arts School.

The training approach emphasizes "learning by doing" through rapid prototyping sprints that encourage experimental creativity. This method has proven particularly effective in projects that require quick turnaround times, as seen in their collaboration with local newsrooms in Wichita. The company places special emphasis on making advanced audio techniques accessible to both novices and experienced professionals.

The development of TwoTone, Sonify's breakthrough open-source web app, has significantly expanded access to data sonification tools. This free application runs entirely in modern web browsers, eliminating the need for specialized software installation. Since its 2019 launch, TwoTone has empowered users worldwide to convert data into music through an intuitive interface that supports up to 16 simultaneous MIDI channels.

The tool's automation features allow for rapid prototyping crucial in newsroom applications, while maintaining user control through customizable instrument selection and multi-channel audio outputs. This balance of automation and customization represents a key advancement in making complex audio production techniques more accessible to a broader audience.

Academic Partnerships and Research

Debra McGrory, Assistant Professor at The New School, has led research efforts that have earned recognition from the Knight Foundation and the Online News Association. Her work spans multiple award-winning projects, including Four Web-Based Software Applications: Morph (data art), TwoTone (data sonification - finalist for Gannett Foundation Award), Geometric (virtual reality), and Airfield (spatial audio).