Despite my wife being one, I’ve given designers get a lot of stick over the years.
To be honest, they have brought it on themselves with shit like this or this.
Of course not all designers are pretentious tossers who make planners look down-to-earth, there are those who are brilliant problem solvers … like the guys [whoever they are] behind the new SONOS corporate identity.
On first glance, it’s nothing special … but the moment you scroll the logo up or down, it suddenly looks like sound is pulsating out of it.
Go on, try it.
How brilliant is that eh?
I’ll tell you how brilliant it is … it’s sheer, utter, simple brilliance.
Of course there are many audio companies who have incorporated music/sound cues within their corporate identity – lets face it, it’s a pretty obvious thing to do – but as far as I know, none have done it in such a clever way.
Whoever was behind this really thought about the challenge.
You can tell they really sweated over the solution as opposed to just heading towards the obvious or the easy.
Maybe their starting point was reframing the challenge.
Maybe it was something like this: how do we make a static logo produce sound?
The reason I say that is because when you phrase objectives that way, it forces you to be creative in your response.
And when I say that, what I really mean is it forces you to be creative in your thinking.
I’ve always been a big believer that obstacles make you more creative.
Maybe that’s why I love working in China, because apart from the cultural barriers, there’s the fact the government are very strict on what can/can’t be said so you always have to try and think one step ahead.
Barriers liberate creativity. Too few people understand that … but they do.
The bigger the barrier, the bigger the potential for glory.
The fact is problems make you smarter … they improve your skills and hone your talent and if you don’t believe me, take another look at that SONOS identity because the people behind it managed to overcome the rather major obstacle of turning a static, silent medium into one that produces sound.
33 Comments
That is brilliant.
Comment by Pete March 3, 2015 @ 6:48 amAnd so is this.
“I’ve always been a big believer that obstacles make you more creative. Maybe that’s why I love working in China, because apart from the cultural barriers, there’s the fact the government are very strict on what can/can’t be said so you always have to try and think one step ahead.”
But can anyone be one step of a government who can just rewrite the rules when it suits them?
Comment by Pete March 3, 2015 @ 6:50 amif youre as devious a fuck as campbell you can. how else has the divisive little fuck managed to stay there so long?
Comment by andy@cynic March 3, 2015 @ 7:33 amFair point Pete … though there is always a window of opportunity to score a goal before they move the goalposts. Ha.
Comment by Rob March 3, 2015 @ 9:07 amI wonder how long it will be before someone sues Sonos for screwing with their eyesight? It’s very cool though.
Comment by DH March 3, 2015 @ 6:54 amI should not admit this but I have always liked sonos. This design makes me like them more. It’s less to do with it being cool and more about it showing their attention to detail. Your point about problems making you more creative is also good. What has happened to you Rob? What has happened to me?
Comment by Bazza March 3, 2015 @ 7:00 amThat’s because sonos sounds better than beats.
Comment by DH March 3, 2015 @ 7:07 amAnd cheaper. By about 3 billion dollars.
Comment by DH March 3, 2015 @ 7:09 amHow is beats music going for you Baz?
Comment by Pete March 3, 2015 @ 7:16 amfuck me pete, youve turned into a smug, sarcastic bastard. i am fucking proud.
Comment by andy@cynic March 3, 2015 @ 7:34 amI can see your smile from here Pete.
Baz, you’re strangely quiet. Ha.
Comment by Rob March 3, 2015 @ 9:07 ambaz is a corporate fucking toady.
Comment by andy@cynic March 3, 2015 @ 9:14 amDon’t think I didn’t notice your attempt to claim some of the design glory on behalf of the plannersphere.
Reframing the challenge may have been involved, but equally a designer might have noticed the effect on a screen and thought they could sell it to an audio business.
Comment by John March 3, 2015 @ 7:10 amWhether it was reframed or just opportunistic, this sort of optical illusion has been around for decades, so whoever recognised its potential for an audio company is still worthy of praise.
Comment by Pete March 3, 2015 @ 7:16 amWhere do I suggest it isn’t?
Comment by John March 3, 2015 @ 6:44 pmYou didn’t. I was just saying it’s great design regardless of how they came up with the idea.
Comment by Pete March 3, 2015 @ 10:08 pmJohn “positivity vampire” Dodds.
Comment by Rob March 3, 2015 @ 9:09 amThe only vampire here is the planner trying to feast on the originality of the designer.
Comment by John March 3, 2015 @ 6:45 pmIt’s what I do best. Or worst, now I come to think of it.
Comment by Rob March 3, 2015 @ 6:49 pmIt’s all to do with your gravitational pull.
Comment by John March 3, 2015 @ 7:02 pmAnnoyingly smart. I love it.
Comment by George March 3, 2015 @ 7:19 amAnnoying from the perspective of jealousy?
Yeah … me too.
Comment by Rob March 3, 2015 @ 9:08 amBasically, yes.
Comment by George March 3, 2015 @ 9:39 pmoi campbell. fucking more transparent than a green house. you know what the fuck im talking about. tell me im fucking wrong. i dare you.
Comment by andy@cynic March 3, 2015 @ 7:34 amCheeky.
Comment by Rob March 3, 2015 @ 9:09 amyou fucking started it.
Comment by andy@cynic March 3, 2015 @ 9:14 amUnfortunately I did.
Comment by Rob March 3, 2015 @ 11:04 amVery clever.
Comment by Lee Hill March 3, 2015 @ 2:08 pm[…] Where adland often needs complex presentations and reports to prove their campaign has been effective, great design often speaks for itself. […]
Pingback by Packaging Adds Value … | The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!] December 8, 2015 @ 6:21 am[…] Design helped SONOS create a static logo that produces sound. […]
Pingback by Design Problem Solvers … | The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!] March 18, 2016 @ 6:15 am[…] me, this is more evidence that some of the most interesting work these days is coming from design firms rather than ad […]
Pingback by Passion In The Details … | The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!] September 12, 2016 @ 6:16 am[…] I’ve written many times, I am a huge, huge fan of […]
Pingback by The Difference Between Design And Creativity … | The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!] April 24, 2019 @ 6:16 am[…] K fit together. Sure, I could talk about how I’ve not seen a logo that made me smile since since SONOS. Sure, I could talk about how it’s as squidgy as sinking your teeth into a […]
Pingback by When Is A Logo Not A Logo? | The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!] March 22, 2021 @ 12:30 pm