We are currently in the middle of a “creativity crisis”. As a brand, Kia believe that movement inspires ideas. So when it came to developing Kia’s new sonic identity we decided to act. We wanted to make sure that our new sonic identity was a tangible proof point for our mission: that everything we do should inspire our customers and help to bring their ideas to life.

Our target audience, which consists of innovators and early adopters are constantly looking for new things to inspire them. Kia believe that movement inspires ideas. So we decided to act, by inventing the world’s first musical instrument scientifically designed to inspire. Research shows that the sounds of movement found in nature produce pink noise, a frequency that triggers inspiration. So we set out to capture natural sounds of movement from all over the world and turned these sounds into an original instrument. The compositions were lab-tested on people’s brains using EEG equipment. Proving that the music the instrument produced could put people into a creative state of flow. We then used the instrument to create Kia’s entire sonic identity from a sound logo to a 4-track album. Before finally making the instrument available for everyone to play as a downloadable plugin. Giving the world a way to become inspired again.

The Kia instrument was created as a tangible proof point of Kia’s mission. Not only creating a whole sonic identity but one that could literally inspire people and backed up by data. So, every composition created with the instrument, from the sound logo to a 4-track album was lab tested on over 200 listeners. The data collected proved that the instrument was able to put people into a flow state. The data was then used to refine the compositions that were most effective. These compositions were the ones selected to create Kia’s sonic identity. Meaning the entire project was guided and based on the brain data collected.

Research shows that the sounds of movement found in nature produce pink noise, a frequency that triggers inspiration by putting the listener into a flow state. We captured the natural sounds of movement from all over the world. Then we turned these sounds into an original instrument. The instruments design was inspired by the new Kia logo and its angles and featured 8 different samples from nature; a keyboard; as well as filters; effects; stereo and binaural modes and hundreds of presets. The instrument became the cornerstone of Kia’s sonic identity. We used it to develop the new sound logo, vehicle sounds and even a four-track album, made available in every new Kia car sold, literally inspiring 6 million drivers along the way. Then we launched our mission on a global scale by partnering with Soundcloud, making the instrument available for everyone to play as a downloadable plugin VST.

Not only did the Kia instrument create an entire sonic identity that could inspire people. The four-track album was made available in every new Kia car sold, literally inspiring 6 million drivers along the way. Then the instrument was launched on a global scale by partnering with Soundcloud, making the instrument available for everyone to play. Leading to thousands of originally produced tracks in just 48h. And every time a new track was made, people knew that Kia was the source of inspiration. Proving that the creativity crisis can be fought one beat at a time.