The client brief said: “Avoid piano only”. And we presented: piano only.

Spoiler alert: they loved it.

We didn’t want to create another mnemonic device made for a marketing department; we were after an honest musical moment by humans for humans.

The music had to be different and suggest a sense of betterment and self-improvement.

So, instead of yet another frivolous single note melody that characterises most generic sonic logos today, we went with a simple but powerful progression of three chords, one that tells the story of UBS and dances elegantly with their visual style: ‘Three chords and the truth’.

But we didn’t use just any piano. We used the best sounding piano in the world, which also happens to be the biggest piano in the world. It’s the only piano that measures 12 feet in height and you have to climb a set of stairs just to play it.

The special ingredient in this story was David Klavins – a master piano builder on a quest to create the best sounding piano in the world. The story of David Klavins is actually the story of UBS: they are both striving to be different from the industry, not for the sake of being different but for the sake of simply being better.

Using the world’s largest and best sounding piano, we have created the new sonic identity for UBS as an integral part of their global rebrand.

The sonic logo comprises 3 magical chords played upon this 2-story high, incredible sounding instrument and is to be used across all of UBS’ touchpoints.

The identity was inspired by the fusion between human and instrument, relaying creative artistry and the power of thinking outside the box.