Since launching in 2015, Apple Music has grown exponentially. What started as a single app now encompasses live events, awards, radio, interviews, and a world of exclusive programming. Our brief was to create a new brand identity identity that could embody everything Apple Music has become, supporting thousands of artist releases, all genres of music, partnerships, and every aspect of the brand across different contexts and media.

Our initial budget for the brand identity was $1.1M USD, but it has since scaled to nearly every expression of creative output from Apple Music, from television commercials to cultural moments to performance advertising.

In keeping with Apple’s design ethos, we refreshed Apple Music with the ?Music wordmark identity — an elegant and ownable approach that allows us to imaginatively inhabit the world of any artist, genre, or partner through our most recognizable brand asset. Conceived with creative flexibility, the wordmark is our container for authentically celebrating music and now lives at the core of all Apple Music creative efforts.

In execution, we built a set of guidelines that allowed for application of the brand identity in almost any context. These guidelines hinge on three different approaches.

Graphic - This approach brings a graphic wordmark into imagery or video. It allows for extremely quick production turn arounds. Through simple color matching or subtle lighting, the graphic wordmark approach can be executed in a matter of hours.

Environmental - This approach revolves around representing the Apple Music Wordmark as part of an image or video’s environment. By integrating the wordmark directly into a physical space, it allows for the brand to exist as a seamless part of an artist’s world, whether that be a jungle, a mirrored room, or street corner.

Sculptural - This approach relies on designing the wordmark to live as a physical object. It gives us the ability to communicate different ideas through materiality, scale, and lighting.

The Wordmark identity has reached over 800 million consumers in 30 markets. It has been shared by the likes of Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Cardi B., Elton John, Future, Carry Underwood, and many other artists. Ultimately, it has become a key differentiator for the Apple Music brand in a saturated category.