Ever wondered why some radio stations feel like they pop in your head and stay there, while others just fade in and out? It’s not all about the voice. It’s about sound design and how it can turn a simple sweep or promo into something you just can’t get out of your head. So, why is sound design so important to radio imaging voice overs and how can you make it happen?

Setting the Mood and Atmosphere

First off, sound design establishes the mood. Before the voice even enters the equation are all the little noises and effects and even the music – all setting an atmosphere. Do you have a high-energy pop station? In that case you’ll need some fast rhythms, punchy effects and a shiny sound to match your high-octane output. Or perhaps your station is all about easy listening or jazz – in which case the sound design will need to be smoother, looser and a bit more laid back.

I was doing a job for a late-night talk show, and they wanted it to feel contemplative. So we did this ambient, soft-edged sound design with this amount of space between things, and it feels inviting. You can just get comfy and let the conversation come to you. Without that sound design? It’s just a voice in a void. That’s the power of sound – it takes up the space, and then it draws you in before there’s a word uttered.

Enhancing the Voice Over

The point is: even a great voice-over can come across as a bit, well, exposed without some careful sound design. A voice, doing its thing, on its own, can do only so much. It’s what surrounds it – how the soundscape complements, supports and underpins the voice – that makes the thing work.

Picture sound design as a stage for this performance. The voice is the lead, yes, but no matter how great the performance, without the right staging, lighting and mood, it’s a flop. And that’s exactly how it should be with radio imaging. When the sound design is right, it elevates the voice in ways that make stations feel professional and proper.

There have been projects where I’ve delivered a voiceover where I thought it was as good as I could make it, and then the sound design guys have got their hands on it, and the voice sounds like someone has sprinkled magic dust on it. It sounds more energetic, more impactful, and that’s down to the sound design fitting the tone and mood of the production.

Building a Brand Identity

And if there’s one thing that sound design does really, really well – it’s help create what I call a brand identity for a station. Radio is competitive. There are five to 10 other stations competing for the same 100 listeners, and you’ve got to have something that makes people tune to you and go: ‘Ah, that’s your station, I know that voice over and I know that sound design.’

 For instance, you need only listen to Capital FM for two minutes to realise that their sound is distinctive – not just in terms of the music they play or the style of their imaging, but in the sound design itself: punchy, tight and high-octane, and so good that you could probably identify the station just from the sweepers and jingles. That’s what sound design is all about: it creates a sonic space that will be instantly recognisable to your listeners.

Timing and Pacing: The Subtle Art

Not to be forgotten is the rhythm and pacing, arguably the most important part of good sound design. Have a top notch voice over and sound effects at your disposal? Great, but if the timing is off, the entire thing falls flat. The sound designer takes care of all of this, knowing exactly when to bring in the effects, how long to hold the pause, and when to let the voice speak for itself.

In other projects I’ve worked on, the pacing of the audio made all the difference. Too hot, and everything screamed past the listener’s ears. Too slow, and that was all she wrote. It’s a delicate balance, but when you get it right – when the voice, music and sound effects are all hitting at the perfect moment – that’s when you have something special.

The Emotional Impact

Sound design is not really about making something sound good. It’s about making something feel good. If you hear a sweep, and as it builds up the music rises and those effects happen, what does that make you feel? Anticipation? Excitement? Tension? And then when that voice comes in? It feels big because of the sound design effort that went into it beforehand.

I found myself working on a charity campaign promo. It was a very emotional message and the voice over needed to be delivered with the right sensitivity. The sound-design team had these delicate, haunting piano notes at the side, a gentle rise in the music as the message built, until at the end of the promo the emotion in the room is palpable. The sound design did not overpower the voice, it lifted the voice, it enhanced the experience to be deeply felt and resonant.

Ultimately, there is no radio imaging voice over that can survive without sound design – it’s the icing on the cake, the branding, the colour for your voice. Done well, it is invisible. Done badly, it sounds like noise. But, either way, it makes a difference. So, once you put the pen down on your next radio imaging job, do yourself a favour. Make sure there’s a sound design on the page as well.

For more info on radio imaging visit:  https://www.ingridvoiceover.com/imaging-promo/