Designing with Sound

Chapter 8. Design

DESIGN IS THE STAGE where all of the various considerations for a sound are funneled into the needs of a project. It is where you consider the functional result you are aiming to achieve and brainstorm potential solutions. It is where you can develop a signature style and personality. It is also where you need to specify all the components for every stage and interaction, including visuals, sounds, and haptics.

In some cases, starting with a prototype is actually the best way to begin. Instead of designing the whole project conceptually before making a cheap interactive prototype and finding a flaw, jumping in and testing your assumptions and reactions can be the best way to inform your design decisions. Starting with stock sounds can allow you to play around quickly and cheaply to get a better sense of what you want before spending the time to specify style, length, and personality. If you think prototyping might be the place for you to start, go to Chapter 9 before circling back to the design phase.

Elements of Sound

Having a vocabulary of sound elements can help you design in a way that delivers the desired emotional and situational fit for your product. It can also help you talk more about why a sound is the way it is. This section describes some basic building blocks of sound.

Some waveforms can lend an organic feel to the sounds, and others may make the sound set feel more modern. Understanding the types of waveforms and how they work will help you design ...