Dolby Calibration

01

Overview

Dolby sponsored this university project to explore how a mobile app could help users understand their hearing health and calibrate their Dolby-enabled audio devices to their individual hearing profile. Our team of five ran user research, competitive analysis, and iterative design to produce a fully interactive prototype.

02

What We Learned

Comparative Analysis

We audited 10+ products across three categories: Dolby's own resources (AirPods), App Store hearing tests, and desktop tests. Each was evaluated on strengths, weaknesses, methodology, and reviews to surface gaps in personalization, calibration, and engagement.

Comparative analysis — 10+ products evaluated across strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, methodology, and reviews

User Interviews & Affinity Diagram

We ran 17 user interviews and clustered findings into three theme rows: listening habits, attitudes toward hearing tests, and health app usage. The affinity diagram maps these across sub-themes including motivations for testing, perceptions of hearing loss, and privacy concerns.

Affinity diagram — insights clustered from 17 user interviews across three main theme rows

03

Finding the Right Interaction

The core challenge was making the hearing test feel engaging rather than clinical. We explored two directions for how users would interact with audio tones, then ran preference testing.

Concept A — Storytelling

Illustrated scenes with a character and environment. Users rotate a dial or move a slider to find the quietest audible tone. Each frequency has a unique scenario.

Concept B — Abstract Visuals

Minimal shapes responding to audio level. A rotating circle, waveform slider, and bubble scatter represent each frequency without narrative.

04

Mapping the Flow

We wireframed the core flows before committing to visual design, focusing on screen sequencing and the balance between immediate test access and optional sign-up.

Home flow — Welcome, Home, and Profile screens

Results flow — Personalize results, Audiogram, and Calibration

05

Testing with Real Audio

To validate beyond static prototypes, we used Claude to build a live testing page. It played real audio frequencies through the browser and tracked how long each user took to find their hearing threshold per frequency. Sliders, dials, and buttons all worked, giving us behavioral data that Figma alone could not provide.

06

Who We Designed For

Based on our 17 interviews, we synthesized a primary persona to keep our design decisions grounded in real user needs and behaviors.

Mark

Age 28 · Music Producer · Chicago, IL

Headphone enthusiastDaily listenerHealth-conscious

Goals

• Understand how his listening habits affect his hearing over time
• Get the best audio quality out of his headphones without manual EQ
• Quick, easy access to a hearing check — no doctor required

Frustrations

• Existing hearing apps feel clinical and intimidating
• No app connects test results to headphone calibration
• Uncomfortable sharing health data without clear benefit

Quote

"I spend hours every day with headphones on but I've never actually checked if my hearing is okay. I just assumed it was fine."

07

The Final Experience

The final hi-fidelity prototype uses a dark, deep-crimson palette inspired by Dolby's brand identity, with vivid pink-red accents that guide attention. We structured the experience into three flows: Onboarding, Testing, and Offboarding.

Ideal user flow — onboarding and pre-test, six-frequency testing screens, offboarding personalization and results

Onboarding

Immediate test access is the priority. The welcome screen leads with three value props: check hearing, track habits, calibrate devices. Sign-up is available but never required before taking the test.

Welcome — Dolby Calibration splash with feature overview

Testing

Users are guided through a quiet-environment check and a short demo before the test starts. Each of the six frequencies gets a unique animated scene where users adjust a slider or dial to find the quietest audible tone, then confirm. Different character animations per frequency keep the experience fresh across all twelve screens.

Pre-testing instructions — find a quiet place, noise check

Offboarding & Results

After both ears are tested, users can optionally fill out a short questionnaire to personalize results. The results screen shows an audiogram with left and right ear thresholds, plain-English interpretation, and a population comparison. The calibration screen then applies that data to adjust the headphone EQ, with a before/after comparison.

Personalize your results — benefits screen + demographic questionnaire

Micro-interactions & Animations

Each frequency has a distinct animated metaphor: a rat on a rotating circle, a person walking with a slider, a bird on a spinning dial. The app also includes contextual pop-ups for engagement checkpoints and volume warnings.

08

Outcomes

Our final prototype was presented to Dolby stakeholders at the end of the semester. Feedback highlighted the clarity of the test flow, the effectiveness of the storytelling interaction concept, and the value of connecting hearing test data directly to headphone calibration — a feature gap we identified in every existing competitor app.