"It’s certainly nice and welcome to move away from logos that looked as if they came out of a mash-up of Fisher-Price and Tron and the new “abstract,” flat logos are slightly slicker but there is still something odd about them. (...)Maybe I’m just misinterpreting what I’m seeing or trying to extract too much sense out of it — indeed, I’m just glad for the move towards simplicity."
Most organizations have relied almost exclusively on the sense of sight to communicate who they are, what they do and why they matter. Pirates have their unmistakable skull-and-bones flag. Nearly all religions have their own unique symbol. And today, practically every brand on earth has its own visual identity. Other senses are rarely part of the equation.
Yet sound has unquestionable potential in creating impressions. Consider the sonic snippets in your life—imagine Chariots of Fire or Rocky without music, a PC commercial without that Intel Inside bongggg, or a Harley-Davidson hog without its expertly calibrated tone. Sound triggers recall and reactions. And much like good visual or industrial design, it also has the ability to convey value and strengthen brand reputations.
Forward-thinking brands are catching on. In this first of a two-part series based on my co-presentation at the “Gain” conference last October, we introduce the practice of audio branding and identity – the intentional use of music, sound and voice to create a connection between people and organizations. And in part two, we will dig deeper with a real-world, case-study look at the recently created audio identity for Sun Microsystems and its ubiquitous Java brand.
Continues at http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/building-brand-value-through-sound
