Another way of thinking about sonic identity.
The memorable jingle, the signature repeated across every touchpoint, the music designed to lengthen dwell time: these approaches have their coherence, their effectiveness in certain contexts, and answer legitimate marketing objectives. They are part of the sound-branding arsenal.
But in the premium and luxury universe, the relationship with the brand rests on something else: trust, subtlety, the feeling of being respected rather than solicited. The client of a prestigious house recognises — and appreciates — what does not try to convince them. A sonic universe that is too assertive, however elegantly crafted, can break that balance.
This is why I work differently: I design sonic universes that create beautiful emotions, and silences that set them off. Sounds whose memory belongs to the brand because they were right — not because they were repeated.
The signal is not the sound. The sound is not the experience.
It is one of the most widespread mistakes when commissioning a sonic identity: approving it on good loudspeakers, in a quiet office, at a comfortable volume. What the marketing director hears in those conditions is not what their client will perceive in the real environment of the place.
Designing a sonic identity without taking the real listening context into account is designing for the supplier's meeting room — not for the brand's client. I always design from the final listening point: which system, which acoustics, which level of ambient noise, which state of fatigue or attention the user will be in at the moment they hear that sound.
For deployment in a client-facing space, the mid frequencies — those that carry the intelligibility, warmth and presence of a composition — will be largely masked by the ambient hubbub. One must therefore design for what remains: the rhythmic structure, the energy-carrying bass, the expressive highs that emerge from the noise. A sonic identity that works in this context is not degraded — it was designed for it.
Likewise, a sonic signature deployed across the communication touchpoints of a private bank will be heard in radically different contexts: a video on a mobile phone, a telephone greeting, a physical space, an event. Each medium calls for an adapted declination — not a mere transposition of the master.
Selected work
A bespoke musical universe
Design of a finely curated editorial playlist for the retail spaces, with original sonic creations inserted between the tracks — sonic interstices that sign the house's identity without ever imposing it. A universe that rewards listening as much as hearing.
Immersive sound installation
For a fragrance launch, design of an installation using ultra-directional loudspeakers broadcasting fragments of poems that reverberated off mirrors arranged around the bottle. A sensation of happy, poetic intoxication — sound as the olfactory extension of the object.
Multi-medium sonic identity
Creation and deployment of a sonic identity across all of the private bank's communication touchpoints. A signature that conveys the exacting standards and discretion of a high-end client relationship — and remains coherent across the diversity of listening contexts, from the telephone to the physical space.
What we build together
Every sonic identity commission begins with a phase of listening and immersion: understanding the brand's DNA, its values, its silences, its contradictions. Identifying the real — not ideal — sonic touchpoints where this identity will be deployed. Analysing the listening contexts and the technical constraints of each medium.
Then comes the definition of the sonic intentions: what do we want people to feel, and at what moment? What is the right sonic density — neither too much, nor too little? Where are the silences that give the sounds their value? This is the creative-brief phase — the most strategic one.
The creation is carried out as a duo with Laurent Sauvagnac within hého design — composer and sound scenographer. Together we conduct the listening, the design and the creation: iterative back-and-forths that integrate field feedback and the constraints of the real playback systems.
Finally, deployment and follow-up: a sonic identity is not a frozen deliverable. It evolves with the brand, the seasons, the contexts. We design evolving systems, with clear usage rules for the teams in charge of playback.
- Hermès — Bespoke musical universe
- Yves Saint Laurent — Launch sound installation
- LCL Private Banking — Multi-medium sonic identity
- Ruinart · Tag Heuer · Georg Jensen · Catimini
To discover all the projects in context — see the full portfolio.