As one of the most universal forms of communication, sound can add a vital richness to brand expressions and user experiences. This event will explore the partnership of audio and visual designers in crafting sonic identities for product, virtual reality and visual identities. How is a brand communicated through sound? What tools and practices are being used? Leading sound designers working at brands and agencies will present case studies on sonic branding.

Speakers

Steve Milton, Founding Partner at Listen

Steve is an award-winning creative director, brand strategist and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of Listen, a NYC based agency working with companies and artists to build deep relationships with their audiences. Milton has helped launch, grow, and reposition some of the world’s leading products and brands including Microsoft, Tinder, Virgin, HoloLens and Jim Beam. Milton’s sensory-driven approach to brand has been featured in Fast Company, Wired and The Verge, as well as SXSW and CMJ where he has led industry panels on creative collaboration, interactive design and the future of music, art and technology. His work helps audiences understand the profound emotional connection we have with music and sound, and how it helps us relate to products, brands, innovation, and the world around us. As a performer, Milton has toured internationally, making numerous television appearances and his music has been recognized by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, and others. He has collaborated with a number of musicians and artists around the globe to create immersive experiences that bring new life and dimension to their art. Milton earned a Master’s degree in Musicology from the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied postmodern theory and new media. He is a mentor at the New Museum’s incubator program, NEW INC, and he sits on Grammy nominated ensemble A Far Cry’s Board of Friends.

Conor O’Sullivan, Sound Design Lead at Google Conor is a sound designer and composer originally from Ireland, now living in San Francisco. He is best known for his work in the emerging field of sound design for consumer products. He’s worked both in-house and as a consultant for an array of global brands including Google, Motorola, Xbox, Microsoft, Call of Duty, Star Wars and Verizon. As a leader in this field, he has shaped the technologies that allow people to interact with products beyond the visual modality – namely through haptics and sound. He is currently the lead sound designer at Google, focused on UX and brand sound design across Google’s product portfolio. Conor studied Mathematics and Music at the University College Dublin, earned a Master of Science in Music Technology at the University of Limerick, and holds multiple patent awards in the fields of audio and haptics.

Moderator

Kevin Perlmutter, EVP, Chief of Innovation at Man Made Music

Kevin is EVP, Chief of Innovation at Man Made Music, a strategic music and sound studio that scores brand and entertainment experiences. He helps Man Made Music and its clients do things never done before. Surrounded and inspired by amazingly talented musicians, composers, producers, developers, client partners and strategists, they get under the hood of emerging technologies and anticipate evolving ways brands connect with their audiences. He’s fostered an innovation culture focused on improving audience and customer interactions with sound to enhance emotional connection, engagement, enjoyment or safety, anywhere that the strategic use of sound is an under-leveraged experience component. Man Made Music is best known for creating the iconic sonic identities of AT&T, IMAX, Allstate, as well as theme music and sound for the Super Bowl on NBC, CBS Evening News, CBS This Morning, ESPN 30 For 30 and HBO, to name a few