UX & Product SoundInterface · Identity · System

Products

speak.

Every product communicates through sound. Most just haven't designed it yet.

Sound is one of the most direct ways to extend a product's interface. It communicates function, status, and brand simultaneously. In many contexts it's the only interface that works. We design that layer.

Three Layers, Always

Read the article from Creative Review about our work →

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Good product sound is not about aesthetics alone. It's about three things working simultaneously. Every sound that comes out of the device needs to nail all three. If one layer fails, the system breaks down.

It works on the device. The sound needs to work with the physical properties of the hardware. The speaker, the material, the context. If it doesn't sound right on the actual product, nothing else matters.

The brand is in it. You hear that it belongs. It fits the rest of the brand and the product. Not generic UI bleeps, but a consistent sonic language that couldn't come from anywhere else.

Every sound has a function. Each sound serves its purpose on its own and has a clear place within the larger system. It's not loose sound design. It's a sound system.

Key Insight

Without designed sound, users miss interface feedback and become uncertain about what they're doing and why. With it, the product feels clear and alive.

Why Product Sound Is Growing

Products are getting smarter, interfaces more complex, and users more distracted. Sound is no longer optional. It's the fastest, most intuitive way to communicate when screens can't.

Better Speakers

Modern products have increasingly good speakers. More digital interaction is happening inside physical products. The hardware is ready. The question is whether the sound design is.

More Interfaces

Products gain more features, screens get busier. Audio is a valid way to extend your user interface, or to replace the visual interface entirely. You don't always need a screen.

Eyes Elsewhere

On a bike, you want to watch the road. In a kitchen, your hands are full. While driving, you can't look at a screen. Sound becomes the safest, fastest, most natural way for a product to talk back.

What We're Really After

Good product sound creates emotion and, over time, recognition. But there's a third thing that makes it truly click: the integration with hardware. You want to feel that the device itself is making the sound. Not that there's a speaker inside playing something. That difference is everything.

Hardware integration is everything. We spend serious time integrating sounds into the actual hardware. Iterating, fine-tuning, putting love into it. The sound choice matters, but the integration is what makes it feel real.

The device makes the sound. Not a speaker. Technically, yes, there's a speaker. But the perception should be that the product itself is speaking. That shift in feeling is what separates good product sound from a notification tone.

System, not assets. We don't deliver a folder of sound files. We create an overarching system. An umbrella from which everything else follows. Three concepts, each a complete language, then we choose and build from there.

We guard the process. As the people who understand sound, we make sure the result doesn't become a mess. We guide you through every decision, protect consistency, and keep the system coherent from start to finish.

The Result

You create a new language that the device speaks. Users learn it, start to recognize it, associate it with the product. It becomes part of the product's DNA. It lives.

Product Sound in Practice

Case Study

WOW Media

Website experience with full sonic interaction design.

View case →

Case Study

VanMoof

The Challenge

VanMoof is one of the few e-bike brands that does most of its UI through audio. Startup, bell, lock, notifications. All through sound. On a bike, you want your eyes on the road, not on a screen. That makes audio the primary interface. Every sound the bike makes needs to communicate with the rider, with pedestrians, and with the city. Simultaneously.

The Outcome

We designed a complete sound system from scratch. Over 400 individual sound variations, all tested and tuned on the actual bike hardware. The Dynamic Bell responds to how you use it: a gentle chime for a polite pass, a sharper tone when urgency demands it. We built digital and physical prototypes, did the integration ourselves, and delivered custom tools including a Bell Designer and Speaker Simulator so VanMoof's team could extend the system independently.

400+

Sound Variations

Dynamic

Bell System

Custom

Design Tools

View the full case →

What We Deliver

Sounds

Complete Sound System

Every interaction, alert, and notification designed as part of one coherent system. From subtle confirmations to urgent warnings, all tuned for your specific hardware.

Adaptive

Dynamic Sound Logic

Sounds that respond to context, pressure, speed, or usage patterns. Not static files but living behavior. Like a bell that adapts its urgency to how the rider uses it.

Tools

Design Tools & Simulators

Custom tools so your product team can test, tweak, and extend the sound system independently. Speaker simulators, sound designers, integration specs.

Guidelines

Sound System Guidelines

Documentation that captures the logic, rules, and rationale behind every sound. So your team can maintain the system and make future decisions with confidence.

Cross-Industry

Any product that makes a sound is a product that needs sound design. This is not a niche. It's everywhere.

Mobility

E-bikes, EVs, Scooters

Energy

Charging Stations, Smart Grid

Consumer

Kitchen, Appliances

Digital

Apps, Websites, Platforms

From First Conversation to a Living Sound System

Seven phases. From understanding your product and brand to a fully integrated sound system, tested on real hardware, with tools and guidelines to keep it alive.

Product Discovery

Brand Alignment

Creative Brief

Concepting

Sound System Design

Integration & Prototyping

Testing & Delivery

Phase 01 / ~1 Week

Product Discovery

First: what is the product? What does it need to communicate? What is the goal, and who is the target audience? We learn the product inside out and map every moment where it communicates, or should communicate, through sound.

What we do

Product deep-dive and hardware analysis
User journey and interaction mapping
Existing sound audit
Context and environment research

Deliverables

Interaction map with sound opportunities
Hardware and speaker assessment
Functional requirements document

Phase 02 / ~1 Week

Brand Alignment

Then we look at the brand. What is the main vision, mission, and ambition? We translate that into sonic attributes and define what the product should sound like, and why.

What we do

Brand identity and values analysis
Sonic attribute definition
Reference and mood boards
Alignment with visual identity

Deliverables

Sonic attribute framework
Reference boards per direction
Creative brief

Phase 03 / ~1 Day

Creative Brief

Together with the client, we arrive at a shared creative brief. This is the foundation. Everything that follows is built on this document.

What we do

Joint briefing session with client
Consolidating product and brand insights
Defining scope and priorities

Deliverables

Approved creative brief

Phase 04 / ~2 Weeks

Concepting

Our sound designers interpret the creative brief and develop three concepts. Each concept is not a collection of individual sounds, but an overarching system. An umbrella from which all sounds can follow. Together with the client, we choose one direction or combine elements. We guard the process to make sure it stays coherent.

What we do

Three complete concept directions
System logic per concept
Demo sounds per key interaction
Joint selection session

Deliverables

Three concept presentations with demos
System logic documentation
Selected direction with rationale

Phase 05 / ~2 Weeks

Sound System Design

The chosen direction becomes the full sound set. We design every sound in the product, with clear rules for priority, urgency, context, and variation.

What we do

Full sound palette development
Priority and urgency hierarchy
Variation and adaptive logic
Dynamic sound behavior design

Deliverables

Complete sound system library
System logic specification
Dynamic behavior rules

Phase 06 / ~2 Weeks

Integration & Prototyping

One of the most important phases. We build digital prototypes, physical prototypes, and integrate everything into the actual product. We can do this ourselves, or work closely with your product team. This is where we tune frequencies, volumes, and timing until the sound feels physically native to the device.

What we do

Digital prototype building
Physical prototype testing
Speaker profiling and frequency optimization
Timing and response tuning

Deliverables

Hardware-optimized sound files
Integration specifications
Working prototypes

Phase 07 / ~2 Weeks

Testing & Delivery

User testing in the real world, iterating on what we learn, and final delivery. We keep our finger on the pulse and sharpen where needed. The result: a complete, tested, living sound system with guidelines and tools.

What we do

User testing sessions
Fine-tuning based on real-world feedback
Final mastering and file preparation
Guidelines and tool delivery

Deliverables

Final sound system package
Sound system guidelines
Custom tools (if applicable)
Implementation workshop

Product Discovery

Brand Alignment

Creative Brief

Concepting

Sound System Design

Integration & Prototyping

Testing & Delivery

Phase 01 / ~1 Week

Product Discovery

What we do

Product deep-dive and hardware analysis
User journey and interaction mapping
Existing sound audit
Context and environment research

Deliverables

Interaction map with sound opportunities
Hardware and speaker assessment
Functional requirements document

Give your product the voice it deserves.

Tell us about your product and we'll design a sound language that makes every interaction feel native, intentional, and unmistakably yours.

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