Personalization Pattern

Context:

You are designing an auditory display in which one or more sounds may be used to convey categorical information.

Problem:

Users can find new or foreign sounds hard to learn and/or interpret.

Forces:

• In some cases, user chosen sounds can be inappropriate, or not particularly functional.
• Users may find it hard to produce/find their own sounds.

Solution:

Provide a mechanism whereby users can personalize the sounds used by the auditory display. A few different choices should be provided (in some contexts, the choice may need to be constricted to the provided options)

Rationale:

The user will have ‘ownership’ of the sounds. They will be more familiar, and the sounds will be more easily associated with their intended meanings. Providing the user with a prepared set of sound schemes can make it easier if sounds are hard to find or create. Providing a specific set of sound choices can help to maintain some consistency between multiple users and can ensure that the sounds are maximally functional.

For Example:

• Malandrino, D., Mea, D., Negro, A.,Palmieri, G. and Scarano, V. “NeMoS: Network Monitoring with Sound”, in Proceedings of the International Conference on Auditory Display ICAD 2003, Boston, July 6-9, 2003.
  • [Paper: http://www.icad.org/websiteV2.0/Conferences/ICAD2003/paper/61%20Malandrino.pdf}

• Susini, P., Gaudibert, P., Deruty, E. and Dandrel, L. “Perceptive Study and Recommendation for Sonification Categories”, in Proceedings of the International Conference on Auditory Display ICAD 2003, Boston, July 6-9, 2003.
  • [Paper: http://www.icad.org/websiteV2.0/Conferences/ICAD2003/paper/71%20Susini.pdf]

• This is also a popular concept in current products. It can commonly be found in mobile phone ringtones, computer operating systems, and instant messaging software.