We had the great opportunity to partner with Google Creative Lab and Janet Echelman in creating a generative soundscape that supported the Unnumbered Sparks interactive experience held at the Vancouver Harbor which was the center gathering place of the TED Conference. This was a truly unique experience in that it combined a massive scale aerial textile sculpture alongside interactive technology that allowed people to log into a browser that allowed them to interact in real time.
Design
Over a three month period we worked closely with Google’s Creative Lab to design three key sound parts that would support the Unnumbered Sparks experience for Ted Conference. First we created a seamlessly looping sound bed that was a representation of the aerial sculpture drifting in the sky. This served as an anchor point, constantly playing an ambient sound bed to attract visitors. We then created various sound swells and textures in various pitches that were triggered as people began interacting with the sculpture. And lastly, we created individual pings as each user logged into the experience. When all played together it create a dynamic balance of ever changing texture and melody that lived in the space for four months.
Sound Design Layers
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Ambient Sound Bed
Anchor point that grounds the soundscape
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Interactive Swell Textures
Textures that add color to the sound bed as people interact
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Individual Pings
Harmonious, percussive pings when people log in to begin interacting with the experience
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Full Experience
Simulation of all sound elements combined as users interact with the experience
State Farm
State Farm: Crafting a Brand Anthem That Lasts
Deliverables
Sound Logo, Brand Anthem, Variations and Audio Brand Strategy
Application
TV Commercials, Audio Advertising, Social Media, Digital Content
Awards
Sound Logo Index: #2 most recognizable Sonic ID
Creating a Brand Anthem
The State Farm jingle has been one of the most iconic melodies in American advertising for over 50 years. As part of a comprehensive brand refresh, we worked with State Farm and Wolff Olins to evolve the original tune into a fully developed brand anthem. The result is a modern audio system that scales across television, digital content, social platforms, and internal communications.
Building on Brand Equity
With over 100 years of brand equity, State Farm needed to update its sound while remaining true to its legacy. With the rebrand, our goal was to position State Farm as a trusted industry leader embracing a bolder vision for the future. With this in mind, we were tasked with maintaining a strong connection to the legacy, building on decades of equity in the original jingle, while moving the brand into a more contemporary space.
We aimed to leverage the equity built by the iconic melody while creating an adaptive framework that allows it to scale in a modern context.
Dynamic Sound Design
Core to the State Farm identity system is the three ovals in their visual logo. As part of the brand refresh, State Farm introduced a more dynamic sense of motion to the brand anthem that allowed us to create a supportive sound design foundation that is adaptable and bold. The three beats followed by the clap adds a level of depth to the hero melody while supporting the idea of connection.
Flexible Sound System
To ensure the brand anthem could live across diverse channels, we built a flexible sound system that balances boldness with warmth and works across emotional tones, media formats, and audience types.
Sound Samples
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Future Forward
Bolder, more modern sound design elements that support the 3 rings of their visual id
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Calming Confidence
Underlying warm sound pallet that is modern yet timeless
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Genuine Empathy
Tonal range that can flex to with a range of messaging
Dynamic Sound Design
Hero Sound Logo
The Outcome: A Recognizable, Scalable Sonic Identity
The final execution of the State Farm sonic identity showcases how unique sound elements can come together to demonstrate a more modern brand approach that honors legacy while embracing flexibility. The new State Farm sound logo is heard millions of times daily across the US and was recently ranked as the second most recognizable sound logo in the US.
“The overall score was driven by high numbers in recall and familiarity, as well as the highest brand association in the index (81%).”
– Veritonic Audio Logo Index
Crafting the Anthem and Variations
Once we finalized the hero sound logo, we pivoted over to creating the hero brand anthem, variations and sound logo variations to accompany the massive range in messaging State Farm produces for public facing and internal content. Ultimately we created 6 variations for the sound logo and brand anthem that serve as a toolkit for extended use for internal teams.
To the right is the primary brand anthem that was released with the rebrand and below are the sound logo and brand anthem variations.
Sound Logo Variations
Brand Anthem Variations
Let’s Talk About Bringing Your Sonic Identity to Life.
Looking to elevate your your barnd through purposeful sound. We create sound logos that boost memorability, enhances emotion, and supports identity. Contact us to start building your sonic experience.
Google Glass, Google IO Keynote, Waymo, Google Ara, Google Sonic ID, Google Pay
Google’s Most Iconic Product Sounds
We’ve had the pleasure to call Google one of our primary clients since 2012, shaping the brand’s global audio presence across product design, advertising, and immersive experiences. Our work has helped define the foundation and evolution of Google sounds across platforms.
Google’s Sound Ecosystem
Since the beginning, we’ve prioritized seamless experiences across the brand platform. For Google sounds, we use instrumentation and timbre rooted in the organic, with the ability to flex into more digital textures when needed. Compositionally the audio UX across all product is rooted in simplicity to communicate the ease of use that allows their technology to be more transparent and intuitive.
Google Glass Audio UX
Glass was our first experience working with Google. It was also Google’s first jump into using strategic audio so we saw this as an opportunity to set the tone for the brand. We started by developing a core key signature, instrumental palette and melodic phrasing. These foundational decisions still define Google sounds today and have helped cement the brand’s audio design language.
We also wanted to humanize the product and use instrumentation that sounded familiar and approachable. For functionality, we added an atonal, tactile feel to many of the tones while adding major scales to the melodic tones that emphasized moments of delight.
From this point on, every Google product we touched has extended the same core audio identity, rooted in warmth, approachability, and purposeful interaction.
Google IO Keynote Soundscape
In 2015 Google reached out to us to score Sundar Pichai’s keynote speech for Google IO. We worked closely with the data arts team to craft an immersive soundscape that was mixed in 7.1 surround sound to create a truly enveloping experience. This was a unique opportunity to take the principles behind Google sounds and scale them into a live, spatial, audience-driven context.
Google Firefly Audio UX
When Google approached us to create both the in car audio experience and engine tone for their self driving car, we jumped at the opportunity. We agreed that we wanted to continue to scale the Google Audio DNA, but for this experience we had more bandwidth to play with for a richer, more robust sound palette allowing us to lean into more low end and immersion.
For the engine tone, we designed in accordance with federal regulation for EV engine tones required by NHTSA and also infused the Google audio brand flavor creating an experience that is light, approachable and pleasant.
Google Ara Music and Sound Logo
Google’s project Ara was an exciting prospect so when we were tapped to create the score and sound logo for the product we were more than excited. We wanted to create a lush soundscape that develops and layers over time to follow the visual edits and pace while complimenting the balance of organic and digital that is inherent within the product.
The Google Ara is all about interlocking unique parts so we tried to follow this concept by layering instrumentation that have their own timbre and feel, but once interlocked all work seamlessly. This interwoven layering approach became another defining element of Google sounds.
Google Pay
Our most recent collaboration with Google was in creating the audio user experience for the Google Pay App. For the design effort, we played off of the existing audio ux key signature, organic instrumentation and approachable feeling that lives across Google’s range of devices and apps. We added more metallic bells and thumb piano’s to the soundscape that gave the feel of coins and money being exchanged.
The sounds are primarily heard in app, but also featured in a number of their digital and TV commercials. This project further extended the versatility and emotional tone of Google sounds into everyday user interactions.
Let’s Talk Google Sounds
From Glass to Pay, we’ve helped define Google sounds at every level—across product, platform, and campaign. Contact us below, to explore how strategic audio can shape your brand’s identity.
Sonic ID, Audio UX, Brand Theme, Audio Brand Strategy
Application
Radio, TV, Digital, Product
Project Overview
We started working with Crown back in 2015 and have since been developing and evolving their soundscape for every touchpoint within the brand and building out their overarching audio strategy. This includes everything from brand anthem, audio brand DNA, sonic id and audio ux for all of their product line as well as creating their audio guidelines.
Brand Communication
Crown is a private, family owned company so heritage is at the core of their brand. In order to express heritage we recorded strings and piano for a more organic, human leaning sound that is familiar and rooted in history. Innovation was the second brand pillar we wanted to support and did this by creating custom synths that are heavily effected making them sound more future facing. And lastly we wanted to embrace the marketplace that they serve which tends to be more blue collar and value the idea of toughness, grit and hard work. To support this, we utilized heavy drums, distorted basses and deeper tones that tend to ground the resulting audio DNA.
Brand DNA
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Heritage
Strings and piano to give a more acoustic, human feel
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Innovation
Synth layers that sound more future facing
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Toughness
Driving drums and heavy, distorted bass elements
In order to express heritage we recorded strings and piano for a more organic, human leaning sound that is familiar and is rooted in history
Product, App, TV Commercials, Social Media, Digital Content
Project Overview
Your alarm is the first thing you experience in your day — It should be pleasant, polite and seamless. When Hello came to us to rethink the way alarms should sound, we saw this as an opportunity to reinvent the conventional by creating dynamic soundscapes that are more pleasant for the end user. The end result changed the way designers think about designing auditory alerts, notifications, alarms and ringtones by addressing them in a more considerate, polite manner.
Reinventing the Conventional
From the get go, we knew we wanted to use dynamics as a driving principle to express the seamless transition between sleep and waking moments. The idea of waking light sleepers at the beginning of an alarm with a softer touch was a new and fresh approach that had rarely been designed for alarms to this point. Each alarm takes a considerate approach to design that evolves and develops gradually in order to address the wide user base of light to heavier sleepers.
Design System
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Lightness and Elegance
Space in composition and lighter textures and timbres
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Dynamic Layering
Slow, gradual builds designed for a range of sleepers from light – heavy
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Dynamic Filtering
Ambient soundscapes that ease transition from sleep to waking
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Considerate by Design
Softer approach to design that is polite and considerate of the end user
We used layers that come and go, build and fall to elegantly wake people rather than rudely force them awake.
Process
During our process we worked closely with the design and engineering team at Hello to ensure the design system was not only on brand, but also functioning properly on device. During user testing, we discovered that users appreciated the dynamic design system of alarms so much that we also created a suite of sleep tones to help people fall asleep.
Impact
The sounds we created for Sense spanned alarms, sleep tones, ui and sound logo for marketing and served as some of the most loved moments in the product — Even The Verge gave us a glowing review of our work. Unfortunately the device is no longer in production, but the design system we helped to create influenced how composers and designers think about designing more pleasant sound experiences for connected home devices the world over.
I’m a big fan of two clever bits of technology in the Sense system: the ambient sounds designed to gently put you to sleep and the gradual alarm devised to equally gently pull you out of it — it’s super neatly executed. I use the app to set up relaxing white noise for a half-hour playback in the evening and then — on the occasions when I’m actually in bed at alarm time — I seriously enjoy the soft and polite way it wakes me up.
The Verge
Alarms
Sleep Tones
The team at Hello worked with CMoore Sound on the sound identity for Sense. They took on the challenge of creating a diverse set of audio assets for Sense, and ended up creating a cohesive and recognizable sound aesthetic for the product that we extended across multiple features, powering some of the most-loved experiences with the product
