What is sonic branding?
Sonic branding is the deliberate design of every sound a brand makes, built as one system rather than chosen project by project. It covers the sonic logo, the brand anthem, UX sounds and the written guidelines that keep them consistent. Think of it as the audio counterpart to your visual identity.
That definition is easy. What is harder is working out which parts you actually need, what they cost, and how to tell one studio from another. This page is the map. Each section links to a longer piece that goes properly deep.
The parts of an audio identity
Four building blocks. Most brands need two or three of them, not all four at once.
Sonic logo
One to five seconds, not sung, designed for instant recognition. Signs off a video, plays on app open. The audio equivalent of a logo mark, and the asset that appreciates the longest.
Brand anthem
A longer original piece carrying the brand's personality, built to be cut down for ads, social and events without losing its character.
UX sound
Confirmation tones, notifications, error states, transitions. The most heard and least designed part of most brand systems.
Voice and music guidelines
The document that lets any team, agency or freelancer brief new audio without drifting off brand. The part that decides whether the identity survives three years.
Does it work?
Independent research, with the sources named.
Budget, rights and choosing a studio
The three questions that decide whether a sonic branding project goes well or becomes a renegotiation.
What does it cost?
A sonic logo typically runs €2,000 to €15,000, a full identity €15,000 to €60,000. Usage rights move the number more than studio hours do.
Which studio?
Five types of supplier, eight questions worth asking, and the red flags worth walking away from.
Who owns what?
Licensing versus rerecording, and why owning the master is not the same as owning the composition.
Five steps, in order
Audit what you sound like
Collect every asset from the last year that has audio. Play them back to back. The inconsistency is usually the argument that convinces the room.
Pick the loudest touchpoint
Usually the one with the most impressions: video sign off, or app open.
Build the core
A sonic logo, or a brand anthem if your media runs longer.
Write the guidelines
Before rollout, not after. The step everyone skips and everyone regrets.
Expand once proven
UX sound, playlists, event beds. Only when the core is working in the wild.
Sonic branding we have built
Audio identities for cultural institutions, NGOs and consumer brands.
Museumvereniging
An audio logo and sound identity for the Dutch museum membership organisation, carried across three campaigns.
Vrijheidskwartier
A sonic identity for the site in Wageningen where the Netherlands' liberation was signed in 1945.
Barter
Sonic logo and audio palette for the UGC platform connecting brands and creators.
Want to know what your brand sounds like now?
That is an audio audit, and it is the first step of every project we take on.