Voices

“In a world saturated with images, sound is one of the most powerful attention triggers—even with eyes closed,” begins Enrico Giaretta, musician, composer (or rather, “cantaviatore”) and Sonic Brand Director at Inarea. After various experiences with overseas agencies, Giaretta brings to Inarea a unique approach to sound design, centered around a core concept: a ‘pure sound source’ as the foundation for multiple outputs. The goal is to provide the brand with a communication tool that seamlessly integrates into its identity world, much like a symphony. In general, creating a sound is not complex; what is challenging is crafting one that can integrate across all levels and forms of corporate communication. It’s similar to the red used by Valentino Garavani, which, regardless of the garment it’s applied to, is always associated with the designer. How is a brand’s sonic identity built? “Once we understand the content, values, and meanings associated with a brand, as well as its existing sonic elements and characteristic phonemes,” Giaretta continues, “we then identify the physical and digital touchpoints where the brand can be perceived. For example, sounds below 80 Hz are not audible on all mobile devices, while in environments like a stadium, frequencies can drop well below 80 Hz. Next, we define the brand’s sonic DNA: that unique and recognizable source that allows the brand to be instantly associated with its sound. For example, the sound essence of Banca Ifis is characterized by a “glissando” that recalls its payoff “the value of growing together.” For Bauli, we selected the A3 note (at 440 Hz), the tuning reference for nearly all instruments, which we associated with the animation of the letter “i” at the end of the sound logo.” The sound logo is usually less than two seconds long. The shorter and more essential it is, the more effective and memorable it becomes, and consequently, the more enduring over time. Towards a Sonic Future: Inarea’s Musical Alphabet If words are increasingly intertwined with sound, and sound itself is deeply connected to perception—since the human brain reacts more quickly to auditory stimuli than any other, interpreting a sound in just 0.146 seconds—then the next step could be enabling a brand’s communication through music alone. With this goal in mind, at Inarea, we are developing the concept of a “sound alphabet,” which assigns a musical note to each letter, creating a universal language. This is a pervasive and engaging tool that, starting from a simple identifying sound cell, can transform into small melodies and even into complex brand themes. A prime example of this is Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, which emerges from the evolution of a simple rhythmic cell composed of just four notes.

“A century ago,” begins Antonio Romano, “Giovanni Treccani and Giovanni Gentile brought together the brightest minds of the time to create a ‘national’ identity, expressed through the unity of Italian cultural heritage.” The first edition of the Treccani Encyclopedia was published in 1929 and completed in 1937: 35 volumes, plus one of indexes, which have served as a backdrop to many portraits of important figures. It became an ‘interior monument’ that has grown over time and enriched the knowledge of many. Then, with the advent of digital technology, this heritage became dematerialized but did not lose its authority. The entries in Treccani represent the most credible and accurate source, even in Google searches: a certification that provides certainty in contrast to the randomness of Wikipedia or the approximation of social media, or, more generally, the internet. What is the significance of an online encyclopedia in the digital age? “Although the vision of encyclopedic, unified knowledge may seem rather outdated in the age of Google, the true contemporary significance and value of the Treccani Encyclopedia lies in being a universally recognized reference. This is a crucial merit in an era of fake news, where we are no longer able to interpret phenomena through cause-and-effect relationships. The digitization process of Treccani was initiated in 1993 by Rita Levi Montalcini, then president of the Institute of the Treccani Encyclopedia, with the goal of making it a reference point for new generations. What was then unforeseeable, and what makes its online accessibility even more relevant today, is that with digital technology and social media, we have transitioned from a visual culture, typical of the last century, to one centered on written words. Everything is consumed through Google search strings, which, to quote Alessandro Baricco, has changed our posture towards life.” “How can the heritage of an encyclopedia be translated into a multimedia format?” “At the core of the rebranding developed in 2020 was the desire to establish a connection with an intangible identity that carries authority. We had to realign the brand architecture, which had been structured around a system of editorial products (and more), making it unified and adaptable to the multimedia nature of the digital world. We modified the ‘tree’ T and replaced the previous font with a Sans Serif (bastoni, without serifs) to ensure better readability, even at smaller sizes. Finally, we translated the theme of the frame, which defines the structured composition of Treccani publishing and draws from both rationalist culture and the tradition of bookbinding, into recurring frame motifs across all new editorial formats, from digital to print.” “Read Antonio Romano’s description of the visual identity for Treccani.”