Leeds College of Music is a real hidden gem. It's unique in mixing conservatoire methods (1:1 lessons, high quality teaching) with a less formal, collaborative university atmosphere.
The challenge
After speaking to staff and prospective and current students it was clear that there was a disconnect between what they had to offer and how they were communicating this. The college prides itself on being a hub for collaboration and at any time there can be any number of different sounds coming from practice rooms in its corridors. I was excited by this as an idea and began to look at the musical journeys people make during their time studying there, the role of the college as a stimulus and container for talent and the language of music.
The solution
As we wanted to create something which felt fluid and ever changing to reflect the college, we looked to generative brands for inspiration and these adaptable, living identities felt appropriate for a college who consider themselves to be progressive. The way that music could be visualised intrigued me, the fact that we could create a brand for the college which was made from the sounds coming out of it seemed apt. We were drawn towards visualisations which had an orb/container feel to them to reflect the hub of the college rather than those that were more linear or random.
Making it happen
Through our research of sound visualisation we came across the work of Karsten Schmidt, one of the worlds most exciting computational artists, and asked him to work alongside us helping to make our sketch on a post-it-note a reality. Thankfully he didn't run away. We collaborated to create a piece of bespoke software which when music is played through it creates a moving visualisation.
From hundreds of randomly generated stills from music visualisations passed through it the college selected one to be their mark. It represents the basis of community and learning that the college provides. When a student passes their music through the software the visualisation begins and ends with the college mark showing that they build on what is offered by the college, find their own sound and flourish. Leeds is asking the question 'What does your music look like.'
We paired the smooth, rounded mark with a condensed angular college title in Rama. It was a controversial choice at the time but we felt the balance between the organic sphere and the strong verticals of the type was a good contrast. It also gave a strong sans serif for use as titling on the web or in their prospectus.
Rolling it out
Creating the software meant that, very easily, the college marketing team could create countless assets, both still and moving, which could be applied to printed and digital applications. It also provides them with a tool to incentivise prospective students to engage with the college before and after applying. At open days and recruitment fairs potential students could interact with the brand and create their own 20 second video snippet from a visualisation of their music, share it amongst their peers and even use it to create a personalised prospectus to email to themselves.