Benshi Audio Branding - Case Study
Who is Benshi?
Benshi is a platform dedicated to children’s and family cinema.
Its ambition is simple: introduce children to cinema through a carefully curated and accessible selection, while reassuring parents about the quality of the content.
Benshi stands for a gentle, cultural and educational approach, with a strong artistic sensitivity at its core.
Why sonic branding?
The goal was not to “make noise”, but to add an emotional and recognisable layer to Benshi’s identity.
A sonic logo makes it possible to:
create a discreet yet memorable signature,
accompany different uses (videos, editorial content, animations),
strengthen overall brand coherence without ever overpowering the image.
For Benshi, the sonic branding needed to reflect the same promise as the platform itself: something warm, accessible and elegant, able to speak both to children and to adults.
An approach driven by emotion and usage
From a sound perspective, I proposed a slightly regressive palette, soft, curious and inviting.
A way to evoke childhood without caricature, while staying true to Benshi’s cultural standards and refined identity.
Some harmonies deliberately draw inspiration from cinema, adding a sense of elegance and musical discovery, in line with Benshi’s mission: opening the ears as much as the eyes.
The sonic logo was designed as a short sound narrative of about five seconds, closely tied to the visual motion:
a gentle introduction that captures attention without being intrusive,
a subtle moment of curiosity (for the wink reference),
followed by a final climax that establishes the sonic signature.
The final punctuation remains intentionally short and neutral, allowing smooth transitions into subsequent content without creating fatigue or disruption.
The overall result needed to feel warm, caring and immediately recognisable, while leaving space for what comes next: the film, the story, the experience.
Sound palette breakdown
Strings
Strings bring immediate emotional depth and a cinematic quality. They introduce softness and resonance while echoing the film culture that Benshi promotes.
Harp
The harp introduces fluidity and delicacy, reinforcing the sense of lightness and ease.
Voice
A soft voice was used to convey reassurance and warmth. It humanises the sonic signature and creates a subtle emotional bond.
Sound effects
A subtle projector sound creates a direct link to the world of cinema, bringing an organic and almost tactile dimension.
Xylophone / Marimba
These sounds add a playful, slightly regressive touch, evoking childhood in a subtle and non-cliché way.
Textures
Textures act as a connective layer between melodic elements, ensuring continuity and cohesion.
Bass and percussive elements
Bass and percussion structure the rhythm and support the progression of the logo, adding grounding and gentle weight.
Result
All these elements come together to form a soft, recognisable and reassuring sonic signature.
It supports the logo without overpowering it, creating a short sound narrative that naturally captures attention and resolves smoothly.
Easily adaptable across different contexts (logo, trailers, app, web), this sonic identity becomes a simple and memorable reference within the Benshi universe.
This project perfectly reflects my approach to sound design and sonic branding: starting with meaning, intention and universe before thinking about sounds themselves.
The goal is never to overdo it, but to create a balanced and lasting signature.
Many thanks to Benshi for their trust, to Loïc for the motion design, and to Le Dimanche Studio for the artistic direction.
If you’re working on a branding, video or sonic identity project
and are looking for a similar approach, I’d be happy to talk 🙌!
Sound Design in SaaS Videos: A Detail That Can Change Everything
SaaS videos are everywhere today.
You’ll find them on landing pages, in marketing campaigns, on LinkedIn, and throughout onboarding flows. They’ve become a central tool for explaining a product, building trust, and convincing users.
Visually, the standard is often very high:
polished motion design, clean interfaces, smooth animations, modern typography.
But when it comes to sound, the picture is more mixed.
Many SaaS videos remain silent, or rely on a generic background track added at the very end of the production, once everything else is already locked.
And yet, sound plays a fundamental role in how a product is perceived
(and I’m probably not the most objective person to say otherwise 😁).
Sound influences understanding, pacing, and attention, but also more subtle aspects such as perceived quality, reliability, and how modern a piece of software feels.
A product video can be well thought-out and beautifully designed, but without real sound work, it can still feel colder, flatter, or simply less engaging.
In this article, I share my experience with sound design for SaaS videos: what I’ve observed across different projects, what actually works, and why sound deserves more than a last-minute layer added at the end.
The role of sound design in a SaaS video
In a SaaS video, sound isn’t just there to fill the gaps between voice-over lines.
When reduced to that role, it becomes interchangeable background noise.
But when treated as a core component of the video, sound design helps structure the message, guide the viewer’s attention, and make what’s happening on screen easier to read.
Giving the product a sonic identity
Even in short formats, sound contributes to a product’s identity.
Without talking about large-scale sonic branding, choices in sounds, textures, and rhythm already set a tone: something serious, playful, highly technical, soft, or dynamic.
▶ An accounting tool, a collaborative platform, and a creative software don’t share the same personality.
And yet, from a sound perspective, many SaaS videos end up feeling very similar.
Helping the viewer follow what’s happening on screen
SaaS videos often present a lot of information in a short amount of time: interfaces, features, transitions, different states…
▶ Sound design can act as a guide.
A subtle sound can signal a change of context, draw attention to a key element, or support the transition from one feature to another.
These small sonic cues, sometimes barely noticeable, help the viewer stay focused and follow the narrative effortlessly.
Creating fluidity and a sense of a “finished” product
This is something I see very often:
a video can be well animated, but without sound work, it can feel rigid or slightly cold.
On the other hand, just a few well-placed sound elements are often enough to make everything feel smoother and more natural.
The product suddenly feels more polished, more “complete,” even if it’s hard to explain exactly why.
Highlighting details
Clicks, confirmations, openings, micro-interactions…
SaaS videos are full of small movements that can easily go unnoticed.
Sound design gives these details weight and clarity without ever taking over.
Very often, this is where sound truly makes the difference.
Examples of sound design in SaaS videos
Aircall
The music, with its modern electronic tones, fits perfectly with the product’s technological universe.
Composed specifically for the video, it reacts precisely to both the pacing and the visual elements.
The sound design is intentionally minimal.
It supports key interface interactions and reinforces the tactile feel of the UI, adding weight and texture to animations without ever stealing the spotlight from the visuals.
Motion Designer: Paul Floc’h
Sound Designer: Nicolas Maurin
Skello
Here, the choice leans toward a highly rhythmic and energetic track, designed to drive momentum and convey a sense of progress.
It pushes the video forward and sustains its fast-paced structure.
With no voice-over, sound design takes on a more prominent role.
Sound effects are bolder and become a central part of the storytelling, structuring transitions and reinforcing visual impact.
Motion Designer: Paul Floc’h
Sound Designer: Nicolas Maurin
Base44
In this video, the music is custom-made and leans toward a more ambient, almost airy direction.
It creates a feeling of lightness and accessibility that aligns perfectly with the product’s message.
The sound design remains very minimal and precisely supports each transition.
Many comments highlight the quality of the audio, to the point where some viewers come back just to listen again, a great example of sound leaving a lasting impression beyond the initial message.
Production: Wix Team
Why sound design is still often overlooked
In many projects, sound comes in too late.
Not because of a lack of interest or skill, but because it’s seen as a detail that can always be “added at the end.”
Sound design can also be harder to justify.
It’s less visible than visuals, more abstract, and not always easy to explain or budget for.
Many studios simply haven’t found the right person for this part yet…
(hi, I’m right here 👋)
As a result, motion design, editing, and art direction get most of the attention, and sound ends up in the background.
That’s a shame, because the lack of sound work often lowers the overall quality. A video can look great visually, but without sound design, it rarely feels fully finished.
Sound is a powerful perception tool.
It influences how reliable a product feels, how modern it appears, and that subtle sense of elegance we experience without necessarily naming it.
The paradox is that when sound design is done well, you barely notice it.
But when it’s missing, you feel it instantly.
Sound design isn’t about adding more noise or overdoing things.
It’s about precision: making the right sonic choices at the right time.
In an increasingly competitive SaaS landscape, where videos quickly start to look alike, sound is often the small shift that makes the difference.
It makes videos clearer, more engaging, and more memorable, without ever overpowering the message.
Personally, I approach sound design as a natural extension of motion and storytelling: something precise, restrained, and always in service of the user experience.
👉 If you’re working on a SaaS video and want to strengthen its sonic impact,
feel free to get in touch or take a look at my work.