Sound
Introduction
Last updated: 14 July 2022, 14:32 by Xavier Bougouin
Sound design can improve user experience when interacting with digital services.
Principles
Services or products can benefit from the use of sound, but there are situations that are best without.
Situations where sound would be intrusive:
- Times requiring privacy or discretion
- Situations that demand no interruptions
- For frequent actions
Types of sounds
Audio elements can be grouped in 3 categories: sound, music and voice. More context can help describe sounds.
Hero sounds
Used for infrequent actions, such as:
- Highlighting an event
- Expressing the celebration of a positive action
- Confirming of a key moment
Notifications
Used to attract the user’s attention to an event or some information.
Alerts
Used when the user needs to be aware of a critical information.
Nature of a sound
These attributes can help describe a sound.
Representation
Skeuomorphic vs. abstract
Envelope shape
Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release (ADSR) defines how a sound changes over time. It affects if a sound is percussive, soft and short, or sustained.
Key and pitch
Defines the frequency range of a sound.
Harmonics
The presence or absence of harmonics define the richness of a sound.
Effects
Apply a variety of effects to a sound to enhance it or give it a more interesting feel. For example chorus, delay, or reverb.
Usage
You can use UI sounds for events or interactions such as:
- Keyboard
- Scrolling
- Button
- Tapping
- Swiping
- Transitions
Resources
Download this set of UI sounds to experiment with in-app audio.
- Hero sounds
- Alerts and notifications
- Primary sounds
- Secondary sounds
Audio branding and sound design guidelines for SoMe banners
Besides the previous guiding principles, here are some consideration for sound design for SoMe banners.
A lot of users consume social media on mobile devices with sub-par audio quality. Low frequency sounds do not translate well on smaller speakers. So make sure to use sounds with mid or high frequencies.
The sounds and music need to reflect the content and rhythm of the video. For example motion design in isometric illustration style. In that case, the sounds don’t have to be hyper realistic, they can be a bit abstract, synthetic and playful.
There is a combination of soft sounds like pads and percussive ones with a more metallic feel.
These videos are for illustrative purpose only and may not follow the latest marketing guidelines.