AUDIO PROTOTYPING

Our second assignment was to design non-visual feedback for the app prototype created in the previous week. All the functions that required audio feedback were clearly stated, but we were free to go beyond that if we wanted to.

I chose to also add sounds for when the user starts/stops the tracking/exercise.

Start

The start sound was created using a lighter, because it offers some kind of build-up with the sound of the flame at the end, which I associated with the start of an action.

Stop

The stop sound was initially recorded by locking/unlocking my watch’s wristband, but after testing I realized, thanks to the feedback provided by my users that it didn’t match, and for it to match it would need to have some sort of connection with the start sound. I then decided to reverse the start sound and use it for the stop action.

Sip some water

I think that recording a sound that would indicate the user needs to sip some water was the easiest of them all, because I just knew it had to physically involve water, after trying different sounds involving water I found the perfect one – tilting my water bottle a few times and recording that generated an easy to understand audio feedback that would take no effort to process.

Go faster/ Slow down

In order to alert the user that they need to go faster, I decided to record an up-beat sound by tapping my desk. I chose an up-beat sound because it is easy to identify it as something stimulant, and it elicits dynamism.

For the opposite, to warn the user that they may be going too fast I went on and recorded my trimmer, creating a sound that can be easily recognised as an alert or a warning.

Progress

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As another extra, I wanted to add sounds that would reflect the progress the user made towards their daily milestone. To do so I recorded taps, and the progress would be shown in thirds.

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For the first third, there was 1 tap followed by another 3 in a rapid succession.

For the second third, there was a succession of 2 taps, followed by another 3 in a rapid succession.

When the last third was completed, my first go-to was to record 3 taps followed by another 3, but after my user test I decided to give up on that and use the sound I recorded for the milestone completion, which was recorded using my balcony door.

It consists of a build-up and come-down with a bang at the end, and although similar to the start sound, it seemed to me the best sound to represent the completion of a task or challenge.

Testing and reflection

My user’s feedback offered suggestions for improvement on the end and milestone completion, which I used to re-record sounds that would better fit my prototype.

I found this assignment to be interesting because I have never done something similar before, and while editing the sounds I got to know Adobe Audition, which I believe could be really useful in my future projects. Because I decided to focus on Foley instead of vocal sketching, I also got to realize how much I can create with simple things from my house.

The most challenging part of it was probably testing it, because instead of having an app that would play the sounds corresponding to the actions or conditions in real time, I would have to describe the situation before playing the sound and that may not offer the best results.