The Problem.

Soundskool faced limitations with its current visual identity, including issues with visibility, impact, and flexibility. Key pain points included the box around the word mark and the thinness of the font, impacting legibility across various applications.

‍Target Audience.

Soundskool's audience consisted of music enthusiasts who valued accessibility, professionalism, and a fun atmosphere.

Soundskool's mission is to inspire and bring people together through music and friendship.

Brand Strategy.

Before diving into design, we defined Soundskool's personality through five core traits, serving as the guiding framework for our creative exploration:

• Professional
• Accessible
• Friendly
• Fun
• Cool

Design Directions.

We presented Soundskool with five distinct visual directions, each aligned with the brand's personality traits and addressing the identified challenges. The design directions are as follows:

Direction #1A: Bold, Fun, Cool, Friendly & Accessible.

Inspired by bold typography, this direction aims to improve visibility while maintaining Soundskool's friendly and accessible brand image. It injects a sense of fun and excitement, resonating with a youthful audience.

Option #1B: Bold & Edgy, Individualistic & Different.

Pushing boundaries with edginess, this direction offers a departure from the current brand, emphasizing individualism. It maintains the core color palette while infusing a spirited and vibrant execution with a touch of tempered edginess.

Direction #2: Professional, Trustworthy, Elegant.

Focusing on professionalism and trustworthiness, this direction highlights the educational aspect of Soundskool. Utilizing a serif typeface, it evokes elegance and sophistication, appealing to a more discerning audience.

Direction #3: Khmer, Elegant & Premium.

Drawing inspiration from local Khmer identity, this direction celebrates Soundskool's roots. Combining modern Khmer imagery with influences from 60s Khmer music, it offers a premium and culturally rich aesthetic.

Direction #4: Outside of the Box.

Embracing the current logo's box enclosure, this direction reimagines it as a unique identifier. It retains the brand's values of being fun, cool, and bold while introducing a dynamic visual element for increased brand recognition.

After thorough discussions and feedback, we combined the best aspects of each direction to create the final design.

Logo Ideation.

We explored various creative directions, emphasizing bold typography to improve legibility and incorporating elements that reflected the brand's fun, friendly, and accessible nature. Key concepts included using negative space cleverly and integrating musical symbols for inspiration. Through this process, we aimed to create a logo that was not only visually appealing but also versatile across different applications.

Brand Design.

The selected design solution combined elements from various directions to create a cohesive and impactful brand identity. Featuring a thicker font, contemporary execution, and a vibrant yellow palette for improved contrast, the design embodied Soundskool's personality while addressing previous visibility issues.

The Logo.

The incorporation of volume bars in the logo added a unique touch, enhancing brand recognition. This clever use of volume bars, positioned after the 'l', and the thicker font choice best captured the spirit of the Soundskool brand. Additionally, this approach addressed production issues related to legibility and clarity, ensuring consistency across various applications.

Brand Guidelines.

The brand guidelines serve as a comprehensive visual document outlining proper and improper usage of Soundskool's visual assets. It provides clear instructions on how to use the logo in conjunction with partner brands, ensuring consistency and coherence across all brand communications.

Brand Roll Out.

The brand roll-out encompasses the implementation of the new identity across various communication channels. This includes the creation of communication items such as magazines, social media templates, and employee look books, all designed to showcase the refreshed brand identity and engage with both existing and new audiences effectively.

Final Thoughts.

Our collaboration with Soundskool exemplifies the power of strategic branding and design in driving business growth and market leadership. By aligning visual elements with brand personality and addressing key challenges, we were able to deliver a transformative solution that propelled Soundskool to new heights within the music community.

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If you are ready to transform your business with exceptional UX/UI design or seamless web design and development, contact us at hi@mad.co‍