Photography Blog

Sonic logos are between 3 and 7 seconds long and are basically short jingles used for brand development. Basically these logos use sound to convey the values and personality of a particular brand. Corporations and businesses pay to create sonic logos in order to make the public aware of their brand and they apply these sound identities across many different touchpoints including television, mobile technology, radio, and the internet.

While the creation of the sonic logo itself is a matter of musicians and sound designers working in the studio, there are actually other steps to consider before a single note or sound is recorded. Research into the character and history of the brand is very necessary and precludes any studio work. The creators must determine who the brand is exactly so that the final sonic logo will accurately depict the brand’s identity. There are several basic steps in the process of creating a sonic logo that follow.

1. The first part of the process is to understand the core values of the brand with which you are working. For instance, is the brand part of a particular heritage, promoting conservative values, or technologically oriented?

2. Second, do a little research into how the brand has used sound or music in the past to express their identity. Previous use of audio can give clues to the new approach that should be taken with a fresh or updated sonic logo.

3. Moving on, establish the types of sounds will best represent the brand’s values. For a cell phone provider, for instance, a variety of rings or button sounds might work well.

4. Fourth, decide if voice is going to play a part in the sonic logo. Will there be a phrase such as “What’s in your wallet?” or will the logo simply contain a melody amidst sonic texture?

5. Lastly, be sure that all of the sonic logos you create are memorable and original since its main function is to identify one specific brand.

These five steps provide a basic outline of the important elements of the process of creating sonic logos. No matter what you do, make sure that the finished product is different in some way from anything that’s come before and that your client is proud of their new sonic identity. If you’ve achieved those two things you’ve done your job.