Sound is commonly used to enhance entertainment products and to make any product more engaging. Windows uses sound in this way for the startup of the operating system. Sound can be associated with specific content to brand your product, application, or service. For example, a subtle sound that plays when you release the slider on the volume control provides feedback about the level of the current setting. Sound can provide feedback for specific user actions. For example, a "new mail" sound tells users when mail arrives without disrupting their current task. Sound can be associated with specific events. Typically sound achieves any or all of the following purposes: Furthermore, sound doesn't scale for them imagine running hundreds of tasks at a time and getting sounds when they complete or fail. Are the primary target users IT professionals? Sound is usually ineffective for tasks targeted at IT professionals because many of their tasks run unattended.Sound is more effective as a supplement to other means of communication (such as text or visuals). Are you using sound as a primary form of communication? In many cases, such as for users who have some level of hearing loss, sound should not be used as the primary means of communication.Is the use of sound distracting? Are there frequent, loud, jarring sounds? Are users likely to reduce the system volume or your program's volume as the result of your use of sound?.Is the use of sound appropriate? Does the use of sound draw attention to things that are worthy of attention? Would users miss the sound if it were absent? Focus on sounds that keep users informed, are likely to change their behavior, or provide useful feedback.Is there a clear user benefit to using sound? Because the drawbacks of using sound can easily outweigh the benefits, use sound only when there is a clear advantage.To decide if you should use sound, consider these questions: Note: Guidelines related to notifications and branding are presented in separate articles. It doesn't cover the use of music or speech. This article covers the use of sounds within a program as a response to events and user actions, and integrating a program's sound control with Windows. For example, adding a sound effect to a notification increases the likelihood that it will be noticed, especially if the user isn't looking at the screen when an event occurs.įrom the Sounds tab of the Sound control panel item, users can make changes to their system sounds. Sounds can be used alone or as a supplement to visual UI. When used appropriately, sound can be an effective form of communication that establishes a non-verbal and even emotional relationship with your users. Sound is the audio element of the user experience. Much of the guidance still applies in principle, but the presentation and examples do not reflect our current design guidance.
Windows sound schemes app windows 7#
This design guide was created for Windows 7 and has not been updated for newer versions of Windows.
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