Perceptions of Audio Notifications Within a Mobile Messaging Experience
Abstract
User interfaces often incorporate sound to notify users of application updates, to enhance games, and to assist complex interactions. Sound exists as a medium that can provide information that humans cannot understand through a purely visual interaction, and in a mobile interface context, using another medium could be useful to mitigate visual limitations in screen space and the amount of users’ attention focused on screen. There are many articles available across the user experience industry that advocate for good user interface sound design, but there is minimal research on users’ emotional responses and opinions regarding these sounds, especially within a mobile space. Smartphones are now a ubiquitous part of people’s lives, and sound interactions can play an important role within these experiences. This study conducts research on users’ interactions with supplemental sounds in both synchronous and asynchronous instant messaging, and in different environments, specifically while using Facebook Messenger. Facebook Messenger is the most popular messaging app in the United States, and its design includes a variety of unique user interface sounds. The goal of this study is to explore and describe users’ perspectives regarding instant messaging audio notifications in order to better inform user interface sound design practice for smartphones. This study contributes design considerations for both researchers and industry professionals to apply to further research or the application of audio within a mobile messaging space.
Degree
M.Sc.
Advisors
Parsons, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Instructional Design|Acoustics|Communication|Design|Disability studies|Information Technology
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