Milo
Category
User Interface Audio
Agency
Mono Koto
The brief
To create a set of user interface (UI) sounds for Milo, an “action communicator” device, a walkie talkie reimagined for the likes of skiers, surfers, and mountain bikers, without the need for WiFi or a mobile phone.
The challenge
The Milo device not only has no screen, but its users are often engaged in physically demanding activities, so it was essential that these UI sounds were bold and recognisable. With this in mind, it was important to establish a sonic language that didn’t only have a strong sense of brand but which felt assertive, instructive, sounds which act as cues for users, from ‘power on’ to connecting with another device.
Our approach
We decided to take inspiration from the sounds of the natural environments where Milo technology is used – snow, waves, rocky landscapes.
While the resulting sound design needed to stand out to Milo users, we also wanted to remain sensitive to the wilderness – for which we sampled sounds created with real materials from those environments, such as stone, water and wood.
The result
Our concept was inspired by the sounds of the natural environments where Milo technology is used – snow, waves, rocky landscapes – for which we sampled sounds created with real materials from those environments, such as stone, water and wood. The ‘power on’ sound, for example, is a medley of these different materials coming together (the sound is so distinctive that it acts as a sonic identity for the device when you switch it on).
The sounds of cutting through snow on skis or carving through a wave are intensely visceral – we experience them physically – and it seemed fitting to harmonise the sonic language with those actual experiences. People usually do these sports as a form of escape, and the effect of the UI/X sounds we created was to uphold the user’s immersion in their surroundings rather than jarring with them, as technology often does.
Hello
Goodbye
Mic muted
Mic unmuted
