Every sound has a social relation, but the development of new technological tools most often focusses on musical or sonic output. Software and hardware originally designed for music-making are constantly being adapted, hacked and reconfigured for other design contexts - such recontextualisations point to new ways of thinking about how sound design can impact on other disciplines. With backgrounds in art, design and music, and interests that cross over into social, political, medical, computing and physical sciences, the Social Sound Research group at the School of Communication, Royal College of Art, London, is rethinking the potential of sound as a key area for contemporary communication design. This presentation explores how sound can be used to articulate, enhance and modulate our societies, examining how sound practice can effect and shape contemporary human experience and social interaction. Drawing on examples ranging from identifying and protecting soundmarks, architectural practice, public announcements and public art, we demonstrate the need for more holistic approaches to sound in the public realm, informed by both social design, and sophisticated, engaging sonic results.