There are many techniques to design sounds for music, film, video-games, and other forms of media.
Often times, a combination of techniques are used to achieve the final result. With enough experimentation, almost any sound imaginable can be made with the various techniques covered in this page.

Sounds can be generated through either analog hardware devices or digital software. These sounds have a reputation of sounding synthetic, though techniques can be applied to make them sound organic and dynamic.

Sounds can be manipulated through sampling. When sampling, it is very important to either record or select sounds that act as a solid starting point. They can be manipulated through a vast amount of techniques, but the source serves as a foundation.