Sonic Branding:

Composing Audio Logos

Created by Andy McClean

An audio logo (or “sonic brand”) is a sound or melody that represents a company.

What companies do these logos represent?

What companies do these audio logos represent?

RECAP

• An audio logo is a sound or melody that represents a company.

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• In this unit, we are going to create our own audio logo.

Deep Dive

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Notes:

• The melody doesn’t directly link to name of the product.
• There are no words- why?
• It’s easy to sing or play unaccompanied- the advert encourages you to whistle it.
• It creates an imperfect cadence and you resolve it by thinking “I’m loving it”- you’re made to link love and McDonalds.

Let’s go back and listen to the McDonalds audio logo:

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Deep Dive

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Notes:

• The melody doesn’t directly link to name of the product.
• Ta dum! It’s a satisfying, solid sound that’s deliberately short as the user has to hear it every time they use Netflix. If it was too long it would get annoying.
• It can be used in every country in the world where Netflix is available.

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Let’s go back and listen to the Netflix audio logo:

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Deep Dive

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Notes:

• The melody directly links to the product.
• It’s easy to sing or play and is catchy- the brand name is instantly memorable.
• Each note is a syllable of the website url.

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Question: What instrument is being used? Why has it been chosen?

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Let’s go back and listen to the WeBuyAnyCar.com audio logo:

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LISTEN AGAIN

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What feelings are the audio logos meant to evoke?

Netflix:

McDonalds:

WeBuyAnyCar:

20th Century Studios:

Apple Mac:

Intel:

xBox:

What does a high energy/ friendly/ exquisite/ dangerous/ calming sound sound like?

TIMBRE

Changing the timbre can change the emotion you are trying to create.

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Timbre is the tone-quality of a sound. It is how you describe how an instrument sounds.

What sounds could you use when composing an audio logo for:

A wellness spa

An alarm clock company

A bank

A sports car

An energy drink

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Describing sound-ADSR

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Attack: the time taken for the sound to reach maximum loudness.

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Decay: the time taken for the sound to fall from peak loudness to it’s ‘resting’ loudness.

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Sustain: the ‘resting’ loudness of the sound when the note is held.

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Release: the time it takes for the sound to return to silence.

ADSR

To help you when writing your audio logo, consider the ADSR of your sounds.

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As examples:

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• Sounds with quicker attack times get your attention.

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• Longer attack and release times make a more relaxed sound.

What would these sounds sound like?

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Tip: remember to keep the pitch constant.

Let’s examine the Netflix audio logo again.

• The first two sounds at the beginning (ta dum!) both have a very quick attack time at a low pitch and a full, resonant drum sound.

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• You then hear a second thick brighter drone swell with a slow attack time

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MAIN TASK

Compose your own audio logo.

MAIN

TASK

What is your brand?

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What words represent the feel of your brand?

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What sounds could represent this?

Consider timbre.

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MAIN

TASK

Three ways to compose:

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1. Like webuyanycar.com.

Compose a melody giving one note per syllable of the brand name.

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1. Like McDonalds.

Compose a melody which represents the feeling the company is trying to convey.

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1. Like Netflix.

Compose a layered sound which represents the feeling the company is trying to convey.