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. Secondly, research the sonic history of the company to how sound or music has been used in the past to reflect the identity of the brand. Past use of sound could prove as a springboard for inspiration or a direction not to take if the company is unhappy with past sonic elements.
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. Subsequently, decide if the human voice will be part of this new sonic logo. Will there be a line such as “I’m loving it.”
5. Fifth, ensure that the sonic logo is unique and memorable since it is meant to identify one brand and one brand alone.
The tips above give media professionals a basic description of the necessary element in creating a sonic logo. Regardless of how you create your sonic logos, be absolutely sure that they are unique from anything done before and that the brand you are working for are happy with their new audio identity. By achieving these two things you’ve reached sonic logo success!