Jewelry for the ears

If you crack open a new bottle of Coca Cola and it doesn’t make the “tsst” sound, you know it’s flat before drinking it.

Some products can be defined by the sound they make. I am not including products with speakers that produce music or digital feedback, but instead products like a vacuum.

Not the motor, but the noise of debris traveling through the hose. It communicates that the vacuum is doing it’s job. Last week I didn’t hear debris while vacuuming and it led me to discovering the hose was detached. That scatter sound is too useful, distinct, and satisfying to not consider it a feature. I would return a new vacuum if those noises were absent because I would assume it was broken.

Legos rustling in a box is forever engrained in anyone who has ever searched for a specific block in their Lego box. Other creative toys don’t sound the same. K’nex have a distinct sound that’s lower pitch. Legos sound higher pitch and clickier. Maybe it’s because I played with Legos so much as a kid, but I think of the Lego sound as being glossy. Legos make a bright and shiny clatter, how I imagine a treasure chest of gold coins would sound.

Car companies invest millions of dollars on Enhanced Engine Noise. Engines are so efficient that companies need to create artificial engine noise in the name of better user experience. Well, what sports car buyer wants their new toy to sound like a Prius? Some, but not many. We’re not there yet.

Sound may not be the selling point for most products, but it has the capacity to stick to products like a logo.