Uber
- Deliverables
- Audio Brand Strategy, App Sounds
- Applications
- Uber Drivers App / Uber Eats App
Project Overview
Uber recently tapped us to design branded sounds to accompany key moments for their app experience. Seeing that the majority of these sounds are intended as alerts and notification for the driver experience, we wanted to create sounds that were easily understandable without distracting the driver from the task at hand.
Design Principles
After extensive research, stakeholder interviews and a brand workshop, we identified that we wanted to lean into 3 primary design principles that are core to the brand. In communicating these principles, we leaned into a tonal palette that is clean, minimal and communicative while being differentiated from others in the competitive space and highly effective in a range of driving scenarios.
Design System
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Motion and Speed
Delay and flutter adding depth and the feel of motion
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Premium and Clear
Multilayered timbres, muted tones contrasted with brighter tones
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Sense of Reward
Melodies and timbres that give a delightful, rewarding feel
Process
During our process we worked closely with the design team to not only make sure the sounds were on brand, but more importantly to make sure the sounds were effective in different environments. During the design process we iterated on site and in vehicle with team members in various environments from loud to quiet to ensure that the sound experience was effective while note fatiguing.
Impact
The sounds for Uber are currently used and heard millions of times a day by drivers and passengers around the world. Uber has also used several sounds for various marketing campaigns spanning TV, social and digital content to further build their global brand presence.
We optimized and tested the sounds in some of the loudest areas of San Francisco to ensure that they were clear and communicative to the end user.
Uber In App Sounds
Note from client
Image, sound, and vibration were paired with alerts so that no matter how the phone is used—on a phone mount in a car, attached to the handles of a bicycle, or in a courier’s pocket while walking to deliver a meal—on-trip alerts are always easily accessible and understood.
Evelyn Kim,
Senior Design Manager, Uber
