Understanding the world through sound
The article on sonification explored how sound has become an integral part of our technology. From OS sounds when clicking buttons to alerts when receiving new notifications, sounds have made their way into all aspect of computer software. The widespread use of sound in computer programs shows that sound is necessary to create a complete experience for users. In our physical world, we use sound to enhance the perception of our surroundings more than we may realize. Even typing on my keyboard, for example, I expect to hear the click of the keys; If I don’th hear these sounds, I would assume something is wrong and look down at my keyboard to inspect the problem. Thus, sound is necessary to create a feeling of immersion and perception for users. This has important implications for software engineers. A product may feel incomplete without sound. Although that is obvious for products such as video games, sound can also add a sense of completeness to virtual reality products, webpages, and even office software. Designers should always ask themselves how sonification could make their product more useful and engaging.