NAUDIO, A logo for headphones marketed to teens ages 13-16.
Designed to appeal to teenagers, NAUDIO is a logo for wireless headphones. Drawing from the freedom and movement associated with wireless and from the science of sound, NAUDIO’s logo is evocative of waves.
Tech for Teens
High schoolers aged 13 -16 are hyperaware of the way they present themselves to their peers. They seek to both stand out as individuals and fit in with the crowd. Teens today prefer subtle branding on wearables so that they fit seamlessly with their personal brand and aesthetic.
Today’s teens value brand transparency and high-quality products. They are money conscious and have more conservative spending habits than recent teen generations. As such, they look for affordability and value for their money.
Beats’ logo features a white lower-case “b” that is reminiscent of a music note placed over a red circle. The logotype is rounded and sans serif in all lowercase. The messaging in their mission statement and online campaigns reflects their aim of creating a seamless and high-quality music listening experience for an active lifestyle.
Skullcandy’s logo is black and white and features a rounded, cartoon skull. The logotype is a sans serif that looks like Helvetica. The messaging in online campaigns and the mission statement reflect a desire to help young people develop their identity, find their community, and seek adventure.
JLab’s logo is light blue and white with black text, and it features a blue ring around a blue geometric shape. The logotype is a flat, wide sans serif that includes ligatures. The wording in their online advertisements and mission statement emphasize that JLab products are designed to fit your personal needs and are tailored to you.
Logo Ideation
Logo exploration started with hand sketching different expressions of a simplified wave. A circular form was used as the base shape for the logo. This decision was based on how the logo would look placed on the wireless headphones, and on my observation of other headphone logos following a similar overall circular shape.
Logotype Ideation
Exploration for the logotype centered around sans serif typefaces. As a starting place for the logotype, a sans serif typeface contributed to a clean, high tech feel and fit in with other headphone brands.
Logo Iteration
After selecting a concept, I moved to Illustrator to refine the details through a series of vector graphic iterations. Movement and dynamism were created through varying the line thickness as the lines of the wave converged. The logo’s elegance and simplicity ensure it does not detract from the personal style of teens when it is placed on their headphones.
Logotype Iteration
The logotype is simple and modern to appeal to young people. The rounded, clean letterforms allow it to fit in with a range of personal styles. Rounding off specific corners of the letters was done to mimic the wave in the logo.
Colour Iteration
The bright blue chosen for this design is eye-catching and brings a youthful feel. It also helps to convey waves and the energy and freedom that they embody. Blue is also commonly used for tech products, so it fits the teen shopper’s mental model. Black was chosen as a secondary colour for a subtle effect when the logo is placed on headphones, which are predominantly black. This was done to reflect the teenage value placed on personal identity.
Logo Lock-ups
NAUDIO looks good in brand colours and in black and white. It is ready to be applied to a range of scenarios that would require different orientations and lock-ups. Of course, NAUDIO’s icon looks good on its own placed on headphones.