Learn about Sound & Vision
Never has typography been leveraged as ‘brand experience’ to such a degree as it is today.
The AI audiovisual discovery engine.
Sonotype is a music and font discovery tool for designers and brands. Developed by Audiosocket and Monotype, the experiential web-app lets you see music and hear fonts.
The Concept
Sonotype emerged after a serendipitous breakfast meeting between Audiosocket CEO Jenn Anderson-Miller and Monotype’s Executive Creative Directors, Charles Nix and Phil Garnham. Somewhere between baked beans and talk of soundwaves and Bézier curves, the concept of “typographic synesthesia” surfaced, the idea that the synesthetic connections between type and sound could guide creative decisions.
Synesthesia, a superpower in which one sense triggers another, is common among creatives. Designers instinctively pair visual and auditory elements to evoke emotion and convey meaning. Yet, until now, there have been no tools to systematically connect sound and typography. Sonotype addresses this gap, allowing users to discover fonts through sound and sound through fonts.
Why Typography and Sound?
The interplay of music and typography creates memorability and is a cornerstone of emotive branding.
From the iconic Intel audio signature — to the twee scores and Futura fonts in Wes Anderson movies — to the daily barrage of awkward music and font choices for short-form-video — sound and type become one in shaping perception.
Sonotype bridges this creative intersection, helping brands build more immersive, culturally resonant experiences with cohesive creative elements.
How Sonotype works
Sonotype leverages Audiosocket and Monotype’s vast databases, offering a broad cross-section of both libraries and will be expanded over time. Metadata describing the emotional and stylistic qualities of each creative asset enriches the suggestions. This data, validated by humans, feeds an AI system that identifies connections between sound and typography. The result is an intuitive app that provides tailored audio-typographic suggestions based on user inputs.
Who benefits from Sonotype?
Sonotype serves creative professionals in branding, advertising, vlogging, storytelling, and multimedia design. Whether you’re creating brand assets for a craft brewery, teaching your fans about filmmaking, launching a new sci-fi series, or seeking inspiration for a campaign or rebrand, Sonotype offers a starting point for discovering thought-provoking and harmonious sound and type pairings.
Track One,
Verse One
Sonotype will launch in BETA at SXSW and is ever evolving, but even in this early version, it’s a robust, functional tool designed for iterative use by creatives. Its Q&A‑driven interface makes exploration fun and helps users push creative boundaries. As Sonotype learns and adapts, it aims to become an indispensable part of the creative process.
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Looking Ahead
As we navigate a “Sound On” world, the synergy of typography and sound will continue to reshape branding. Sonotype’s innovative approach offers a glimpse into a future where these elements work seamlessly to create impactful, emotionally resonant designs.
Explore Sonotype!
Explore the Sonotype app and experience the intersection of sound and typography for yourself. The more you use it, the more it learns and becomes better at identifying your specific creative needs and preferences for audible and visual type pairings.
Music AI powered by AIMS.
“The Sound & Vision project explores the intersection of typography and sound in our visual cultural landscape. It pushes boundaries by using the latest technology to understand that relationship and innovates by giving creatives a tool for exploring those connections themselves.”
Juan Villanueva, Sr. Type Designer, Monotype Studio
“Challenge accepted. These were my exact words when Charles Nix and Phil Garnham asked if Audiosocket would be interested in exploring the relationship between sound and typography with Monotype. Quite smitten by this concept, I immediately engaged my team in exploratory conversations about where the two intersect and whether there is an innate connection between them.”
Jenn Anderson-Miller, CEO, Audiosocket
“Type designers have a seemingly preternatural ability to connect the abstract forms of letters to sensory experiences — a song with a font, a font with a color, a font with a mood. What if that natural/nurtured ability was available to everyone? Our senses are regularly stimulated by art and design. This project allows us to see the world as a sound designer and to hear the world like a type designer.”
Charles Nix, Sr. Executive Creative Director, Monotype
“The global shift toward digital media has accelerated to a point where personalized brand experiences are widely expected. Cross-media exchanges and the rise of AI as a fast-thinking interpreter have opened new opportunities, particularly in SaaS API partnerships. Exploring the interactive potential of typefaces to create appropriate communication is essential. Our Sound & Vision project marks the start of our journey.”
Phil Garnham, Executive Creative Director, Monotype
Monotype is a trademark of Monotype Imaging Inc. registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be registered in certain other jurisdictions. Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Futura is a registered trademark of BauerTypes SL. All other product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners. All company, product, and service names used in this document are for identification purposes only. Use of these names, logos, and brands does not imply endorsement.
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