Skinnable Sound: A Framework for Emotionally Grounded, Culturally Flexible Auditory Interfaces

Interface sound design has remained largely generic and inflexible despite growing demand for personalised and emotionally sensitive auditory feedback. This paper proposes a skinnable auditory interface framework that separates emotional intent from sound rendering, allowing users to shape interface sounds through their own vocal gestures combined with customizable sound skins. The system supports cultural flexibility, situational adaptation, and inclusivity, including neurodivergent accessibility, without relying on emotion inference or profiling. Use cases range from individual devices to shared environments, enabling personal expressiveness while respecting social context. The framework is open for public use, development, and testing.