Design guidelines for the use of audio cues in computer interfaces
A logical next step in the evolution of the computer-user interface is the incorporation of sound thereby using our senses of ''hearing'' in our communication with the computer. This allows our visual and auditory capacities to work in unison leading to a more effective and efficient interpretation of information received from the computer than by sight alone. In this paper we examine earcons, which are audio cues, used in the computer-user interface to provide information and feedback to the user about computer entities (these include messages and functions, as well as states and labels). The material in this paper is part of a larger study that recommends guidelines for the design and use of audio cues in the computer-user interface. The complete work examines the disciplines of music, psychology, communication theory, advertising, and psychoacoustics to discover how sound is utilized and analyzed in those areas. The resulting information is organized according to the theory of semiotics, the theory of signs, into the syntax, semantics, and pragmatics of communication by sound. Here we present design guidelines for the syntax of earcons. Earcons are constructed from motives, short sequences of notes with a specific rhythm and pitch, embellished by timbre, dynamics, and register. Compound earcons and family earcons are introduced. These are related motives that serve to identify a family of related cues. Examples of earcons are given.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA); California Univ., Davis (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 6232457
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-92925; CONF-860107-1; ON: DE85015176
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 19. annual Hawaii international conference on system sciences, Honolulu, HI, USA, 8 Jan 1986; Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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