Barter
A sonic identity for a UGC platform built on trust, energy, and authenticity, designed to be felt across every touchpoint from app to social.
- Client
- Barter
- Sector
- Consumer brand
- What we did
- Sonic logo, audio palette and sound design
- What it achieved
- A sonic logo under five seconds, with a three-layer audio palette that serves every touchpoint
A platform that needed to sound as fresh as it felt
Barter is a platform where brands swap products for content from creators. No money changes hands. So the sound had to feel friendly and a bit energetic, but mostly it had to feel like Barter, whether you hear it in the app, under a social post or at the end of a brand film.
What a fair trade sounds like
We started from the idea of a fair trade, where both sides get something they want. Out of that came a short melody that works at any length, a couple of rhythmic layers that give it some drive, and a harmonic colour you'll recognise after a while without really knowing why.
One identity, built to travel
Sonic logo
Under five seconds. Warm, upbeat, and it works just as well on the app's splash screen as at the end of a TV spot.
Audio palette
A set of tonal and rhythmic pieces you can mix and match for social, partner campaigns and the app. Different combinations, same brand.
Sound design
Small, quiet sounds for the app. They don't shout. You hear them a lot, and after a while you'd miss them.
Built for daily repetition
Here's the thing with Barter: the sonic logo plays when you open the app. Heavy users do that a few times a day. Every day! Write something punchy and it's fun once, then annoying by day three. So we kept it warm and let repetition do its work. You'll hear the same melody in their socials and in the brand film as well (nobody has to learn it twice).