In his day job, Jared Ficklin makes user interfaces at frog design. As a hobby, he explores what music looks like ... in light, in shapes, in fire.

Why you should listen

Jared Ficklin is a Senior Principal Design Technologist at frog, where he builds user experiences for clients, playing with interactions including touch and multi-touch, and applying physics to enhance the user experience. A passion for music and making things introduced him to the hobby of sound visualization, which has led him on occasion to play with fire. (As Flash on the Beach puts it, "Jared Ficklin’s sonic experiments stood out for their individuality, drama and casual disregard for health and safety.") Every March in Austin, Texas, Ficklin organizes the frog party, a collective social experiment for a few thousand people attending SXSW Interactive. It's a form of playful R&D for social technology. And he has spent 10 years helping fund, design and  build quality free public skateparks for Austin as part of the Austin Public Skatepark Action Committee. 

What others say

“I am intrigued by the idea of eliminating time and allowing listeners to take in an entire song as a single visual impression. The result reveals an unseen beauty.” — Jared Ficklin

Jared Ficklin’s TED talk