Intentional | Audio Identity Blog

Last November I pointed to the buzz around the Windows Vista startup sound. Now it looks like things are starting up again: these past few weeks no fewer than seven friends and associates have also pointed me to this Fast Company article on the same topic. Here’s a snippet:

The key insight that helped the team focus came when Martine, listening to one riff, mimicked it, clap-clap, clap-clap. It was a rhythmic breakthrough, echoing the message, “Win-dows, Vis-ta.” They determined that a peaceful theme was what the hypercaffeinated, overstimulated PC users of the world needed now. “It needed to be a soft light from the corner, rather than a spotlight,” Ball says.

The tough thing about articulating efforts like these is that they’re often opinion-driven, which leaves all those involved vulnerable to valid criticism. When you’re creating anything at all for corporate purposes — music, painting, film, etc. — you’re in trouble if you and your team are guided by matters of subjective taste, rather than a larger set of objectives.

Our first-ever audio commentary features Fritz Doddy who is a friend of mine and a Creative Director at Elias Arts. He’s also one of the brains behind dozens of audio identities we know and love. In today’s ditty, Fritz wonders how closely the Vista team followed their objectives. Bonus material: Fritz’s version of the Vista startup sound. Y’know…for the kids.

> > Listen to Fritz Doddy’s Vista Startup Commentary (MP3) < <
> > Listen to Bonus: Fritz Doddy’s Own Vista Sound (MP3) < <
> > Visit NPR, which contains an audio clip of the startup sound. < <

– Noel Franus