The weight of a newspaper of record.
Credibility and editorial confidence — without sounding military.
Sound case 01ABC · VocentoSonic identityCompositionSound system
Three letters, three notes. A news brand you can recognise with your eyes closed.
A sonic identity for a legacy Spanish newspaper going digital-first: one signature built from its own initials, two layers of character, and a system that stretches from a one-second notification to a video sign-off.
ABC · the signatureOpening · upwards, it opens
A′ A G G E E C C B B A A
Opening LA · SI · DO6
C6 = C · E · G · A. The note it starts on comes back on top of the chord it ends on.
Sketch · sine tones,
not the production sound
not the production sound
LA · SI · DO6 → DO · SI · LAOne idea, read forwards and backwards
- In one line
- A legacy news brand needed to be recognisable without a screen. The answer was already in its name.
- Client
- ABC · Vocento
- Role
- Sonic strategy · composition
- Scope
- Sonic branding strategy · sound research · musical motif · harmonic exploration · sound-system architecture
01 — Challenge
From a one-second alert to a video sign-off — and it has to be ABC every time.
ABC is a historic Spanish newspaper, now living in notifications, apps and video. Each of those moments makes a sound, and until now none of them sounded like ABC.
The brief in one question: how does a legacy news brand become recognisable through sound, across touchpoints as different as a notification and a video opening?
01 · Authority
02 · Humanity
Warm, never institutional-cold.
A newsroom is people. The sound has to breathe.
03 · Recognition
One gesture, every format.
From a short digital interaction to a long audiovisual piece.
02 — Research
Four references. A principle from each, nothing copied.
TerritoryWhat I tookWhat I left
ATech & productivitySlackA short gesture becomes recognisable through repetition.The fatigue that repetition brings.
BTrusted brandsMastercardA signature as a brand asset that adapts to every touchpoint.Commerce’s confirmation tone.
CNews & broadcastBBC NewsPulse and rhythmic construction for urgency, precision and authority.The pips. They’re theirs.
DCorporate identityThomson ReutersAn information brand carried across formats and contexts.The corporate distance.
The result is a short list of principles: clarity, controlled impact, repeatability, and adaptability across contexts.
03 — Direction
Credibility without aggression. Modern without going cold.
ABC is
A historic newspaper. A trusted brand. A general-interest medium. A brand with a strong digital and audiovisual presence.
ABC sounds like
Attention → elevation → identity.
Editorial authority with a contemporary musical sensibility.
Two layers. One identity.
Institutional layer · authority
- Defined, precise timbres
- Controlled attacks
- Sober musical construction
- Editorial authority without aggression
Human layer · warmth
- Organic, warm timbres
- Expressive micro-variation
- Clean harmonic texture
- Controlled brightness, short tails
Precise attacks and a sober structure carry the weight of a historic newspaper. Organic timbres and small expressive variations stop it sounding like a machine.
04 — The signature
The brand already had a melody. It was written on the masthead.
In English notation, A, B and C are notes. In Spanish they are LA, SI, DO. The opening climbs, which gives a sense of direction. The closing comes back down, so the system has its own way to resolve.
Then the colour of the final C. I compared seven harmonic endings. C6 won, because it is more open than a plain triad — and because a C6 chord is C·E·G·A. The note the signature starts on comes back on top of the chord it ends on.
SequenceFinal chordListen
01LA · SI · DOmaj9 · DOCmaj9 → C
02LA · SI · DOmaj7Cmaj7
03LA · SI · DOadd9Cadd9
04LA · SI · DOsus2 · DOCsus2 → C
05LA · SI · DOsus4 · DOCsus4 → C
06LA · SI · DO6C6 · C E G A Chosen
07LA · SI · DO, octave belowC, lower octave
Sketch tones. In production, the character comes from the voicing, the timbre, the length and the playing.
Three shapes, three hits · the rhythm section
TriangleThe instrument and the shape. A bright, short shimmer.
SnareThe box. Pulse and articulation, the language of the newsroom.
Kick · timpaniThe round one. The weight under the signature.
05 — The system
One DNA. Four jobs. The length changes, the identity doesn’t.
01Standard notificationShort and discreet. Recognisable without interrupting.
02Breaking newsMore attention through rhythm and articulation — never by turning it up.
03Video openingThe full signature, with room for timbre, harmony and an editorial presence.
04Video closingThe motif descends and resolves: the sign-off answers the opening.
Breaking news gets more urgent through rhythm and articulation, not volume. A louder alert is the cheapest way to sound important, and the fastest way to get muted.
06 — Criteria
Six questions every candidate sound has to survive.
01
Identifiable
Recognisable in the first instants — without looking.
02
Fatigue
Would it annoy you heard 20 times a day?
03
Authority vs. kindness
News needs credibility without sounding military.
04
Mobile
Small speakers: mids and highs carry, the low end disappears.
05
Scalable
Can it give 6–12 variations without breaking the identity?
06
Accessible
Never harsh, never shrill — and a quieter option where the platform allows it.
The 150–300 ms window is where testing starts, not a promise of recognition. Fatigue and level get measured on real phones and headphones, not argued in a meeting.
07 — Next
A framework, not a finished jingle. That’s the honest status.
01 · Exploration
Timbres from the motif
Synthesiser, Spanish guitar, symphonic strings.
02 · Selection
Compare on the criteria
Personality, recognition, clarity, fit with ABC.
03 · Production
The final cues
Notifications, video openings and closings.
04 · Validation
On real devices
Phone, headphones and video playback, before it ships.
“The identity isn’t only in the notes. It’s in how they’re played.”
The motif is a candidate, not a closed identity. Its final value depends on how it sounds, the variants it allows, and how it holds up in each use. That’s why the next step is production and testing, not a launch.
