SONIC BRAND | Do you know what sound //kood makes?
That’s exactly the question Black Cat White Cat Music (led by Sander Mölder) and KAGU_the_agency set out to answer. After just six months, a stupidly simple sonic brand process—built by KAGU and scored by BCWC—has borne fruit, and the answer has been captured as a beautiful and, most importantly, functional piece.
It all started with a podcast called… you guessed it… kood/Cast.
Like any proper podcast, kood/Cast needed distinctive intro and outro music. To create it, //kood reached out to Sander Mölder (Black Cat White Cat Music), whose first piece for the //kood brand became today’s sonic logo. Then something more followed—both Sander and //k saw the potential to craft a powerful sonic brand. But how exactly should we do that? We brought KAGU_the_agency to the table to map out an entirely new sonic‑branding process.
ba da ba ba baaa, I’m lovin’ it!
This and many other iconic examples became the yardstick KAGU and BCWC aimed for—and, where possible, leapt over. Since the first step in KAGU_the_agency’s everyday branding process is to draw information and inspiration from real life, people, and the culture around a brand, we did the same when creating //kood’s sonic brand.
“If you record it, they will come.”
With a chivalrous stride, we set out to record and discover the sounds hidden in //kood’s world. We hauled in 17 mechanical keyboards with different timbres (big up to Klaviatuuriklubi and Euronic Eesti for letting us record their instruments). We also found intriguing rhythms in developers’ typing tempos, mouse clicks, room tones, software, hardware, and nature.
Why nature? Because we all code so that one day we can escape to the forest, the seashore, or the bog to enjoy life and rest our minds.
When the sounds were in hand and the world was captured, something unexpected happened…
//kood transformed before our very ears and eyes into …//…////…/…
// — every piece of code begins with two slashes
//// — then comes writing the code. In the case of the logo, you need to type — kood.
/ — and finally you press Enter. That sets the wheels in motion and gets the world going. It’s as magical as a wizard’s snap.
From this, the following was born:
We also made a minimal logo version for /k:
Usually at this stage, you produce a beautiful 5–8 minute brandsuite and call it a day.
But we had a better idea—let’s make a mixtape for the //kood brand instead. A true love letter composed of six different pieces. Each track is made using only recorded sounds, and each title hints at how it can be used in the future.
We’ll soon burn the whole thing to cassette tape, but today you can listen to //koodtape here:
Oh right. We also made a logo dance for //kood.
Amid all the mixing and sound‑play, the sonic logo also became a dance. It’s needed for a very simple reason—it helps students remember it through an emotional experience. It doesn’t matter how cringey it might feel at first. It’s crucial for building a community.
Author: Kagu_the_Agency
