---
title: "Sound"
description: "The audio token set: five recorded sounds mapped to semantic events — tap, click, open, close, error."
url: https://buenalabs.io/design/sound
---

# Sound

Five recorded tokens cover the interaction vocabulary. Like the color system, sounds are semantic: products reference the event, not the file.

## Tokens

| Token | File | Event | Duration | Format |
|-------|------|-------|----------|--------|
| tap | https://buenalabs.io/sounds/tap.wav | Light touch: selection, focus move, keystroke-level feedback | 154 ms | WAV 16-bit stereo 44.1 kHz |
| click | https://buenalabs.io/sounds/click.wav | Committed action: button press, toggle, confirm | 125 ms | WAV 16-bit stereo 48 kHz |
| open | https://buenalabs.io/sounds/open.wav | Surface appears: dialog, sheet, panel in | 336 ms | WAV 16-bit stereo 48 kHz |
| close | https://buenalabs.io/sounds/close.wav | Surface dismissed: dialog, sheet, panel out | 336 ms | WAV 16-bit stereo 48 kHz |
| error | https://buenalabs.io/sounds/error.wav | Something failed: validation error, rejected action | 450 ms | WAV 16-bit stereo 44.1 kHz |

Reserved events, not yet recorded: `success` (positive completion), `warning` (caution before a destructive step), `notification` (something arrived while away).

## Rules

- Sound is user-initiated only. Never autoplay, never ambient.
- Respect the platform: system silent switch on iOS, notification settings on Android, an in-app sound toggle everywhere (off by default on web).
- One sound family — the audio equivalent of one accent.
- Sound accompanies visual feedback, never replaces it.
- Pair with the matching haptic (https://buenalabs.io/design/haptics.md) on devices that support both; fire them together.