5.10 Conclusion
Auditory design is not simple. It requires a sensitivity to how sounds can improve an existing environment or product interaction as well as knowledge and experience in working with sound. Since sound is an integral part of the aesthetics of our everyday interactions with people, places, and products it is a key feature in sensory product aesthetics. Are the sounds we hear useful? Are they appropriately pleasant or unpleasant, depending on the situation? What happens if we can’t hear the sounds that are embedded into products or that are a part of the auditory spatial character of places? How do we perceive the important messages that sounds are designed to communicate? Consider these questions while paying attention to the sounds around you.
This chapter approaches sound from two perspectives: how people experience sounds and how design teams work with sound to create good and even better auditory experiences for product users.
Key Takeaways
The key takeaways from this chapter include:
- An introduction to the 6 properties of sound and how they affect the way sound is perceived across a range of products and environments.
- Knowledge about how the qualities of sounds and soundscapes communicate information that enhances our interactions, including the layers of sounds that compete for our attention.
- Awareness of the ways sound can provide contextual information about time passing, the changing states of our surroundings and the things in them, and how products are working.
- Exposure to some of the benefits and problems associated with sounds such as unwanted sounds, and negative effects of sounds that are serious enough to cause disorders. Design can improve the quality of these auditory issues.
- Perception of how sound can contribute to a product or brand’s emotional appeal in enhancing sonic branding, recognizing anthropomorphic features, influencing behaviour, and providing informative feedback.
- Understanding the 6 categories of sounds, from air sounds to mechanical sounds and how to identify whether sounds are consequential or intentional.
- Explanation of the principles and processes for designing sound, how to become sensitized to the sounds around us, and guidelines for considering how to include sound in products.
Chapter 5: Design for Auditory Experiences
Reflection Time!
Instructions
- Type your reflections for the 3Ts below: Thoughts, Tips, and Tools.
- To download your reflections as a document, click EXPORT to open a summary preview, then click the export icon on the top right of the window.
- Use your reflections to recall the key ideas later and to apply them in future situations.
Supplementary Activities for this Chapter
The Sense-It! Activities are categorized according to the Catalyze, Learn, and Apply (CLA) model defining the intended learning outcomes of the different categories of activities. This learning model is described in more depth on page 8 of the booklet Sense-It! In Action: Facilitator’s Guide, along with descriptions of the Sense-It! Product Cards and Sense-It! Tiles. These supplementary resources can be downloaded here.
An overview of each of the Sense-It! Activities and instructions for facilitating them can be found on pages 10-19 of the Facilitators’ Guide. The activities designed to support this chapter can be found starting on page 66 of the Sense-It! Activities booklet.
The next chapter introduces the senses of smell and taste, how we experience them, and their importance in enhancing our experiences with designed products and places.
Key Words: Sound Design, Properties of sound, Layers of sound, Functions of sounds for user experiences, Benefits and Challenges of sound feedback, Emotional value of product sounds, Categories of Sound, Sound design considerations
