MakeMusic
A Family of Brands
MakeMusic is a leader in the music software industry, and the parent company to four sub-brands, SmartMusic – Finale, Garritan, and MusicXML. SmartMusic is an education tool utilized in hundreds of schools to teach music. Finale is the leader in music composition and leverages Garritan and MusicXML sounds to build compositions used in many feature films.
As the sole member on the creative team, I worked closely with outside agencies to rebrand the company and develop a new website. I was on the brand side to ensure that we hit on all the aspects through this rebrand. Once we landed on the desired atheistic, I brought the brand to life with trade show graphics, stationery, print ads, and packaging while working closely with the internal marketing team, copywriters, and project managers.
Tradeshow Booth
Branding
Each sub-brand had a key color that brought their brand to life. MakeMusic was the backdrop of that brand. In designing this booth we wanted to keep that mindset with the backdrops dark and allowing the posters to stand out in a crowded space.
Training
One of the key goals of the booth was to provide live and in-person training of the software. With areas dedicated at the front and a training session space in the middle, this allowed for live and scheduled interactions. Additionally, tablet were utilized for people to test out their drumming skills. We would post the top scores and give away a free subscription for the top scorer of that day.
SmartMusic
SmartMusic grades students while playing their instruments. We developed activation card packaging and custom headphones that paired perfectly with the program. These headphones ensure students got the correct score every time.
Through several rounds of creative, we landed on a structured design that was flexible for three different headphone types, keeping the cost low across all three products.
Finale
Finale is the top choice for many film composers and producers offering options for expert and amateur. The ask was to create a package that could work for both of these products.
We developed a package that shared an inner shell structure with separate different colored sleeves. This solution reduced the cost but kept the continuity of the overall Finale brand.
