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Abstract

Coinciding with the UOC brand renewal, agency dadadada created a sound concept reflecting its values and a flexible sound system to generate new forms of brand expression in physical, digital and multimedia environments. The outcome included: audio logo, brand theme, audio palette, brand voice, anthem, audiovisuals, on-hold, soundscapes, sound UX and live acts. 

Description

The UOC (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya) was the world’s first online university and is now a benchmark, with more than 20 years of experience. Coinciding with the brand renewal, agency dadadada was asked to create the new sound identity. The new UOC needed to be dynamic and ubiquitous; flexible while rigorous and structured when necessary; closer and accessible; innovative and use technology as a means.

The use of sound should allow the brand to engage with a global audience (the UOC is present in 95 countries) and generate new forms of brand expression in physical, digital and multimedia environments. The sound branding solution was to produce a consistent sound concept, along with a flexible sound system to enhance implementation of the audio branding. The starting points were defined by means of an exhaustive study of the new brand, featuring meetings with members of the UOC community and workshops.

Basing on all that, dadadada defined the audio profile that would reflect the features of innovation, responsibility and proximity. UOC was no longer an acronym; it has now become a sound. Thus, dadadada created an audio logo to strengthen the ideas of proximity, dynamism, movement and innovation. Meanwhile they expressed the sound concept in the brand theme, a melodic journey of life and learning that represent the values associated with the university.

Analogic instruments and musical programming were used to highlight these values, seeking a balance between sounds associated with more traditional values and those having to do with innovation, connectivity and the digital environment. The resulting sound is novel but recognizable and accessible. The brand theme was adapted to an anthem to be performed in formal events. 

For the verbalization of messages, they defined the features of the brand voice, selecting voices in different languages. The audio palette was drawn from the brand theme, offering a range of sounds from which applications are created. Given the variety of brand environments, the UOC audio branding case is characterized by its widely-grounded, ongoing implementation. The applications include audio-visual formats, soundscapes for live acts and multimedia, on-hold and sound UX of the website and mobile apps.

For institutional events, an innovative, much-lauded live format combining piano and Reactable (a widely-recognized electronic instrument with a tangible user interface) representing the essence of the brand sound was created. The striking audio-visual act has been carried out in different environments, including the seat of the Catalan government, in the presence of the Premier of Catalonia. The audio journey of the UOC has just begun. Sound is an essential part of the new brand, which will be fully implemented by the end of 2017.

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