What Is Product Sound Design?

Product sound design is the crafting of the sounds a physical product itself makes, from a car door’s thunk to an appliance’s beeps, so that the product sounds as considered as it looks. It covers engineered mechanical sounds as well as composed electronic ones, and sits apart from advertising audio.

Product Sound Design in Practice

BMW’s IconicSounds Electric programme is the flagship example: the carmaker brought in film composer Hans Zimmer, working with BMW sound designer Renzo Vitale, to compose the drive sounds of its electric vehicles, turning acceleration in models like the i4 into an authored piece of audio. Electric cars made the discipline visible because their silence created a blank canvas, but product sound design is everywhere: camera shutters, appliance chimes, the reassuring weight of a switch. Done well it communicates quality, safety and character before any advertising is heard. For brands, the product is the most honest sonic touchpoint of all, because customers hear it every single day, which makes it a natural extension of a sonic identity.

Famous Example

BMW IconicSounds Electric: Hans Zimmer composing BMW’s electric drive sounds.