We know about different interactions designers use to make an app/website engaging for the users. Gifs, animations etc. are different types of elements designers put together to make a digital product visually appealing and engaging.
The question is, what is sound interaction and why is the use of sound interactions increasing in this digital era? Sound interaction is an audio element used to make a digital product more engaging and appealing, which is trending in this modern time.
Now, think of sounds we are familiar with like the snap sound when you use the camera or the ping sound when you use Skype, these sounds help us interact better with the app/website. If we don’t hear these sounds while we use the app we feel like something is wrong, like something is missing.
Many companies also use music in the background, this music then becomes a part of how we recognize the brand and associate the brand with that music and vice versa. It would be absolutely delightful for a user to perform an action and get an audio response acknowledging their action.
Getting acknowledged for actions performed is good but what is better? Audio acknowledgement! Yes that’s right, when a customer uses an app they see a lot of visual content and interact with them but what is different is the audio sound that they interact with because it is not something they have to read to understand… It is something they hear and immediately relate to.
Sounds are also known to affect human emotions, if the right sound is used it can strike a positive impact on the users making them more inclined to take positive actions, which sound designers at Techved understand and work on for creating mobile apps.
While we understand that sound interactions increase engagement, make a positive impact, simplify understanding etc. what we need to understand is that sound interactions are a blessing for users who are visually impaired. Audio sounds help these disabled users understand what is happening in the app/website. It is of great benefit to people with disabilities.
How do you create a good sound interaction? How can business ensure that their audience like their sound interactions? Just like any other element, creating sound interactions does involve a lot of brainstorming and creativity. You need to make sure that sounds you choose or the placement of when the sound should play resonate with the target audience and the brand positioning in the market. The audio should be well aligned with the message the brand wants to send out. It should also be something that people easily relate to and recognize. This helps in creating a rapport between the brand and their customers.
While a few designers are often worried that adding sound interactions could hamper the performance of the website/app as these audio files can be larger than most images. A good practice to follow while adding audio files to a digital product is to avoid having audio files download alongside the website. There is less scope of the performance being hampered if the audio plays after the entire page has loaded. Sound interactions need to be added very strategically for best results.
There are many creative ways that sound interactions can be responsibly implemented for enhancing user experience and user interface. Sound interactions can be an asset for websites/apps if used properly.
These are some ways to enhance user experience using sound interactions.
https://www.techved.com/resources/images/blog/videos/bell.mp4
https://www.techved.com/resources/images/blog/videos/out_put.mp4
https://www.techved.com/resources/images/blog/videos/play-btn.mp4
https://www.techved.com/resources/images/blog/videos/option_4.mp4
https://www.techved.com/resources/images/blog/videos/option_05.mp4
Feel free to get in touch with us at info@techved.com for more such inspirations.