XOXO | Case Study

Two ideas, one shape.

The brief was specific: portray a kiss and music together, so the mark reads as an intimate music experience rather than either idea on its own. That ruled out the obvious move — lips next to a note icon — in favor of finding one shape that could carry both at once.

Four ways to fuse a kiss and a soundwave.

Four distinct concept directions, each exploring where "kiss" and "music" could physically overlap in one shape rather than sit side by side.
A solid gradient lip mark for a warm, immediate read of "kiss" on its own.
An outlined lip form built from layered soundwave lines, so the mouth itself is drawn like sound rippling outward.
A standalone abstract soundwave, shaped like a pair of lips from a distance — the subtlest pairing of the two ideas.
The final direction — a solid lip mark with an equalizer bar pattern cut into the mouth — as the clearest single-glance read of both ideas at once.

What if the mouth was the waveform?

Instead of pairing a lip icon with a separate music symbol, this direction built the lips entirely out of layered sound-line strokes — the shape only reads as a mouth once you step back from it.

One glance, both ideas at once.

The final mark keeps the lip shape immediately readable while cutting a row of equalizer bars into the mouth — close enough to feel intimate, musical enough to feel like a gig.

A kiss, drawn like a soundwave.

Two ideas, one shape.

Four ways to fuse a kiss and a soundwave.

What if the mouth was the waveform?

One glance, both ideas at once.

A logo that says "intimate music experience" without needing the words.

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