Instacart

A Savory 360° Sonic Brand System

We collaborated with Instacart, the number 1 grocery delivery service in North America, to create a comprehensive sonic identity spanning marketing, product and beyond.

Sonic Branding,UX & UI,360° Brand Systems,Sonic Mnemonic,Process,Brand Music

Coming off the heels of a bold rebrand by Wolff Olins, Instacart needed to reinforce its personality through sound. We composed a vibrant and joyful sonic logo, a musical style guide supported by original compositions, and a sonic UX toolkit designed to make interactions more informative, useful and delightful. All of our work was packaged up with robust guidelines to help internal Instacart creators bring their sound to life across all touchpoints.

Discovery & Strategy

Our first task was to craft a sonic logo. We started an in-depth discovery process, including a deep dive into the brand and landscape as well as collaborative mood-boarding sessions. We distilled our findings into strategic principles to guide our approach:

Bold

The sound of Instacart needed to reflect the joy and vibrancy of the brand, with both pop appeal and an unexpected twist.

Emotive

It needed to feel true to the emotional core of sharing a meal, while still encompassing the full breadth of Instacart's offering.

Flexible

It needed to feel great across the entire media and product ecosystem, appealing to a diverse community of shoppers and customers.

Exploration

With the strategy in place, we engaged in a far-reaching sonic exploration, investigating sounds inspired by pop music, food ASMR, jangling shopping carts, playful articulations of the brand name and much more. We finally landed on the perfect sound, a composition called “Joyful Adventure” inspired by Instacart's "Shop + Savor" ethos.

Instacart Sonic Logo

Elements

This sound features a joyful whistle that speaks to the vibrancy of the Instacart brand, and a satisfied hum signifies the way Instacart gives customers more time to savor life. These are layered on top of a tasteful harmony that is both forward-looking and subtly surreal.

As a nod to the brand's food-based heritage, we recorded dozens of carrots to find the perfect snap, along with tactile cutting board sounds which we sculpted into a satisfying gesture to represent the convenience of groceries just one tap away.

Vibrant Whistle

Carrot Snaps

“Like most people, I love to feel the world between my fingers and toes, share delicious food with loved ones, explore, take it easy, and breathe."

Rory White
Composer & Sound Designer

"There was a unique opportunity to translate that savoring of life into sound for Instacart."

Musical Toolkit & Style Guide

We then expanded this sonic DNA into an entire universe of sound. Instacart needed a unique musical aesthetic that could help connect with its audience, reinforce its cultural prowess, and differentiate it from competitors. We developed a musical style that is refreshing and eclectic, with pop appeal. Leveraging a collage of diverse influences, we combined funk, disco, and even barbershop quartet into one contemporary and dynamic aesthetic.

“Music is crucial in how we connect with our audience across all of our media channels. It sets the tone to help us tell our story."

kevin byrd
Kevin Byrd
Executive Creative Director at Instacart

"It’s what’s on the record player at the party we’re hosting, while we entertain and engage our guests. Tactically, music is a key differentiator for us within the competitive landscape — its curation reinforces our cultural prowess.”

Mild, Medium, Spicy

We knew this music would need to help tell a range of stories while always sounding uniquely Instacart, so we developed a robust toolkit with musical assets across three energy levels.

Mild

A softer, more understated feel.

Medium

Background tracks that add a bit of energy and momentum.

Spicy

In-your-face anthems that steal the show.

Mild, Medium & Spicy

We also delivered stems and modular assets to allow for virtually infinite remixes and variations.

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Guideline stills for stems
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Guideline for modular assets

UX Sound Ecosystem

Finally, we turned our attention to the user experience. Our goal was to create a sonic UX ecosystem that would provide feedback, manage attention, and celebrate special moments. We engaged in hands-on research to truly understand the perspective of users. We found that, for shoppers, a sensitive approach to sound was especially critical. Shoppers work in noisy environments and need to manage time-sensitive communications with customers while picking out the right products and produce. We needed to create sounds to cut through the noise and provide useful information without being distracting or intrusive.

The final UX toolkit included a range of elements drawn from Instacart's overall sonic DNA. Tactile sounds drawn from the carrot elements of the sonic became subtle confirmation tones to lend weight and satisfaction to interactions. Notification sounds subtly hint at the melody of the sonic logo to capture attention and facilitate timely communications. Finally, for special, rare moments and milestones, we sculpted sounds that could add an element of joy and vibrancy to celebrate what makes Instacart special.

Each of these sounds came in Mild, Medium and Spicy variations for flexibility, forming a toolkit of future-proof UX sound variations that could live on as the product grows and evolves.

Celebration
Feedback
Notification

Results

Finally, we created guidelines for all aspects of Instacart's sound, including a music style guide, templated composer briefs, guardrails for voice casting and coaching, and in-product haptic vibrations. Our work can be heard across the entire Instacart ecosystem, helping them stand out from the pack, convey their personality, and connect with their audience.

Composition & Analysis
Instacart Sonic Principles
Music Attributes_ Tempo & Rhythm
Voice Guidelines
Haptic Intensity Scaling
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Tags

Sonic Branding,UX & UI,360° Brand Systems,Sonic Mnemonic,Process,Brand Music

Credits

Client

Instacart

Design

Wolff Olins

Sonic Branding

Instacart

Press & Awards

Most Innovative Process & Execution

2023 AMP Awards for Music & Sound