Sound Viz by VisionROI

Inspiration

We noticed creators in Adobe Express spend lots of time perfecting visuals but audio often stays “good enough.” That gap inspired Sound Viz: an audio tool that feels as visual and intuitive as design, right inside the same workspace.

What it does

Sound Viz is a real-time audio enhancement add-on. It imports audio, applies a DSP (Digital Signal Processing) chain (9‑band EQ, reverb, dynamics), visualizes playback, and exports the enhanced audio back into the Express timeline. It can also suggest presets by analyzing a selected image on the canvas.

How we built it

We built two parts: Web app (audio-canvas-lovable): React + Adobe Spectrum UI, Web Audio API DSP, and image-based preset analysis. Add-on (audio-canvas-addon): Adobe Express add-on wrapper that embeds the app and uses the UI + sandbox runtimes to communicate with the document and timeline.

Challenges we ran into

Media access limits : Express doesn’t expose video frames on the canvas to add-ons, so only images can be analyzed. UI contrast & theme : Getting consistent light-theme readability with Spectrum components took several iterations. EQ layout : Matching the EQ design while keeping it compact for the sidebar required reworking layout and sizing.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

A fully working real-time DSP chain in the browser (no mock processing). Smooth Express integration with audio export into the timeline. A clean, compact 9‑band EQ that fits the add-on sidebar. Image-based preset suggestions that feel intelligent and immediate.

What we learned

How to design audio UX for visual creators. Practical limits of add-on runtimes and cross-frame communication. The importance of clarity in UI states (selected, active, hover) for creator tools.

What's next for Sound Viz

Add video-frame analysis once Express exposes video frame access. Introduce custom preset saving and user profiles. Expand the analysis model to include more semantic context (e.g., scene type, mood, motion).