Redefining Bold in the World of Tech

Creating an audio identity for Beryllium, pioneers in making high-risk finance and technology services easy to use for any business.

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When making an audio identity for any tech company, it’s important to create something that stands out from the crowd, separates it from their competitors and still completely aligns with the key values of the brand.

Beryllium is a technology outsourcing company with the mission to shape the future of finance and technology services across the globe. With the focus on creating innovative outsourcing solutions that will help businesses grow and achieve operational excellence, Beryllium’s goal is to create agile and effective solutions. We recently helped them launch their new brand identity with an audio logo and brand anthem. Here’s what we did and how we made it happen.

The Challenge

Beryllium wanted an audio identity that could help them be recognized both nationally and internationally. They wanted an identity that could be recognized while still communicating the key values of the Beryllium brand.

Beryllium wanted a modern techy sound that could stand on its own against other large tech companies. They didn’t want to sound Jamaican, as they wanted to be able to expand into other countries in the future without issue. Most of all, they wanted to sound bolder than most other companies out there.

The name “Beryllium” was immediately a point of inspiration, as it is the 4th element on the periodic table. It is characterized as being a silvery-white metal, which is soft and light while still being incredibly strong. These were characteristics that we wanted to bring into the audio identity as well, as they were also key values in the service that Beryllium provides.

We chose to collaborate with two of our vendors, Moncef and Elvis. Elvis Suljevic is a Swedish music producer and sound design specialist. Elvis makes music under the artist name “Slackin Beats”. Cinematic sound patterns, pulsating beats, and playful tones are some of the key elements in his compositions. Moncef Saidi is an Algerian music producer and sound designer. Moncef’s sound is characterized as modern and punchy.

Regarding some of the challenges that they encountered throughout the process, Elvis and Moncef explain;

“The biggest challenge for me was to find the right tone for the brand. I wanted to create something impactful and edgy, but didn’t want to make it over the top.” – Elvis

“The hardest thing was to find the sound to play the melody with. At first, we tried using electronic sounds exclusively, but they lacked a premium feel and impact. From there, we layered real instruments, such as percussive sounds, on top of designed analog synths and pads, which gave us the end result we were looking for.” – Moncef

“I love having a combination of electronic soundscapes and organic instruments. And to really get in-depth with all of the details in the sounds. Flipping it, reversing it, speeding it up, adding subtle layers, panning it, and so on.”

Insights

During our initial workshops with Beryllium, we noticed that Beryllium wanted to be bolder than most other audio identities out there. They wanted to be experienced as experts, authentic and trustworthy while still being thought of as bold technological pioneers. Therefore, we knew that we had to go all out with this logo, with heavy-hitting percussion, deep bass impacts, and lots of sound design elements.

We wanted to represent the element of “Beryllium” as well. As mentioned before, the Beryllium had some very inspiring characteristics that we could explore both using music and sound design. It was determined that heavy liquid-like sounds would fit best, as they could convey agility (think of water moving through various obstacles without hindrance while also being able to move very fast) as well as strength (think of how hard-hitting and impactful water can be when at full force).

Solution

Audio Logo

The Beryllium audio logo is a representation of all the key values of the brand, combined with the unique traits of the element itself.

The audio logo is in the key of “B minor (Bm)” which represents the first and last letter of the word “Beryllium”, as well as the visual logo. A clear melody outlines the syllables of “Be-Ry-lli-Um”, with an extra tone to make the call “Go Beryllium”.

As we knew we had to go bold, a combination of punchy drums and deep bass was used to outline key moments in the audio logo, acting as strong foundations that guide the listener through the auditory journey. Elvis, one of the main sound designers, had this to say regarding the overall direction of the sound design;

“I created a lot of cinematic strings, horns, and distorted synths. I love having a combination of electronic soundscapes and organic instruments. And to really get in-depth with all of the details in the sounds. Flipping it, reversing it, speeding it up, adding subtle layers, panning it, and so on.” – Elvis

Experimentation and happy accidents are expected and core parts of the design process. Allowing the creative energy to flow and going down unexpected paths will more often than not lead to unique results;

“I mostly look for “mistakes” or something unexpected (…) when you accidentally play different notes or when you tweak a sound and come up with a really cool sound.” – Elvis

Liquid-sounding sound design elements were used to convey the strong, agile, and lightweight features of the Beryllium element. A combination of both electronic and acoustic instruments was used, to convey both the primary technological side of the brand but also the human and trustworthy side. Moncef, the other main sound designer, had this to say regarding his approach to the audio logo;

“We tried to merge edgy cinematic sounds with modern and catchy ones, finding a melody that refers to the brand (…) The most inspiring aspect from this project was the opportunity to grab the listener’s attention with a bold start” – Moncef

Listen to the audio logo below.

See the logo in action.

Music Toolbox

Based on the audio logo we also created a music toolbox for the Beryllium brand, which contained a custom brand track called “Go Beryllium”. It uses the same key, harmonic content, and instrumentation as the audio logo, to make it as easy to use as possible while still being part of the same audio identity. One of the key benefits of a full music track is the amount of variation and different sections you can have, highlighting more aspects of the brand in the process. Speaking on the overall structure of the track, Moncef adds;

“(…) We created multiple parts. A part where it sounds impactful and serious, a part that sounds very organic and full of chords, and an ending part that sounds festive and joyful. Overall, all parts needed to be coherent.” – Moncef

This brand track was separated into different lengths and different energy levels for Beryllium to use, ensuring maximum flexibility with the music track. In practice, this meant that the music track could be applied to a lot of different brand material whilst still maintaining a clear audio identity throughout.

The music track was delivered in different lengths and energy levels, allowing for almost limitless combinations of the music piece. Each element could be combined with any other, making it possible to create a new variant, but still with the same DNA and audio identity of the Beryllium brand. The progressive nature of the track lent itself well to such a format;

“I wanted to focus on the right elements. Therefore I added different drums, percussion, and textures to make it feel like it’s constantly evolving and moving.” – Elvis

All in all, the solution was a result of collaboration between a diverse group of audio professionals, with different backgrounds and experiences. Regarding the collaboration, Moncef says;

“Luckily, me, Elvis and the team had the same vision and (…) we could use the same designed sounds and merge, play with several ideas to get exactly what we imagined.” – Moncef

Elvis concurs;

“I also love collaborating with different artists and producers. I find it rewarding to challenge myself with these types of collaborations. In that way you kind of force yourself to think outside the box, trying different approaches.” – Elvis

Listen to how the Beryllium audio identity is used below.

Words from Beryllium

“From our first meeting to the final exchange, Sonic Minds was in tune with our company’s goals. They created a timeless audio logo and signature brand music, and we couldn’t be more pleased. In addition to an exciting end product, Sonic Minds ensured that the entire process was seamless and we learned along the way. We’re thrilled with the outcome and highly recommend the Sonic Minds team.”

Team BE, Beryllium

“Working with Sonic Minds, we were able to provide our client with an exceptional audio branding exercise that resulted in a timeless audio logo and signature sound. Karsten, Frederik and Anton facilitated spirited, enlightening and productive conversations, which allowed for full immersion into a new experience. We intend to work with Sonic Minds again and recommend their partnership to any company that wants to level up their brand identity.”

Tishan Lee, CEO at Engine Room Brand House