The Sound of Software
Andy Allen and Thomas Williams, from Not Boring:
Sound is an outcast in Software Design. We may embrace the
aesthetics of animation and visuals, but sound is different. It’s
intrusive. Unlike visuals on a screen, you can’t look away or
ignore it. It’s enough to make you rip the batteries out of a toy
or frisbee an iPad across the room (speaking from experience).
And yet, play a video game without sound and its powerful punch
lands with no force. Without music, once moving moments in a film
become dull, even comical (Jurassic Park, Rocky). Sound holds an
immense power to elevate any experience — including the most
boring of software.
Sound in software isn’t inherently bad. It’s just been really
badly designed.
We use sound in every !Boring app, and many have called it out as
one of their favorite aspects of our apps. We’ve learned a few
things about when to use sound, how to design it, and how to
implement it. When done right, sound unlocks a path to much richer
software experiences.
Previously: “The World’s Most Satisfying Checkbox”.
★
Andy Allen and Thomas Williams, from Not Boring:
Sound is an outcast in Software Design. We may embrace the
aesthetics of animation and visuals, but sound is different. It’s
intrusive. Unlike visuals on a screen, you can’t look away or
ignore it. It’s enough to make you rip the batteries out of a toy
or frisbee an iPad across the room (speaking from experience).
And yet, play a video game without sound and its powerful punch
lands with no force. Without music, once moving moments in a film
become dull, even comical (Jurassic Park, Rocky). Sound holds an
immense power to elevate any experience — including the most
boring of software.
Sound in software isn’t inherently bad. It’s just been really
badly designed.
We use sound in every !Boring app, and many have called it out as
one of their favorite aspects of our apps. We’ve learned a few
things about when to use sound, how to design it, and how to
implement it. When done right, sound unlocks a path to much richer
software experiences.
Previously: “The World’s Most Satisfying Checkbox”.