{"id":3162,"date":"2025-08-05T18:54:04","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T18:54:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.angesfinanciers.org\/?p=3162"},"modified":"2025-08-08T15:13:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T15:13:31","slug":"muse-groups-new-identity-by-collins-hits-a-high-note","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/2025\/08\/05\/muse-groups-new-identity-by-collins-hits-a-high-note\/","title":{"rendered":"Muse Group\u2019s New Identity by COLLINS Hits a High Note"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the vast and often noisy world of music tech, Muse Group<\/a> has quietly been building something remarkable. With over 400 million users across beloved tools like Ultimate Guitar, MuseScore, Audacity, and MuseClass, they\u2019ve become a global leader \u2014 without a brand most people could name. That changed with the help of COLLINS<\/a>, the design and strategy firm known for making the invisible not only visible, but unforgettable. Together, they took on a bold challenge: to unify Muse\u2019s fragmented portfolio into a single, emotionally resonant identity, and, more importantly, to close what Muse called \u201cthe gap\u201d between creative ambition and confident expression.<\/p>\n

The result is a reimagining of Muse as a Creative Fluency Company <\/em>\u2014 a brand not just about software, but about unlocking artistic flow. With a new purpose (\u201cInspire the artist. Unleash their sound.\u201d), a visual language that pulses like soundwaves, and a system that stretches across every product touchpoint, Muse is now poised to empower the next generation of creators. I spoke with Nick Ace, chief creative officer at COLLINS, about the thinking behind the work, the design decisions that shaped it, and how branding can play a deeper, more human role in the creative process. <\/p>\n

\n

\u2026 we wanted to capture something more fundamental: the feeling of musical creation in itself. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

(Conversation lightly edited for length and clarity.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Muse aimed to bridge \u201cthe gap\u201d between ambition and expressive ability, an idea many creatives can relate to. How did your team engage with that tension during the design process?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ah, tension!<\/p>\n

\u201cThe gap,\u201d as defined by Muse Group, is that frustrating space between ambition and the ability to express it. This gap suggests why 90% of guitarists abandon their instruments within a year. Muse Group recognized its role was not just a software provider, but as a bridge spanning this critical divide.<\/p>\n

We worked with Muse Group to articulate and focus their real purpose: What we ended up calling Creative Fluency. Muse is dedicated to helping anyone achieve a state where playing and creating music becomes second nature. This reimagination of their brand needed to communicate this ambition while unifying a diverse product ecosystem under a coherent identity that could grow with their expanding platform.<\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The reframing of Muse as a \u201cCreative Fluency Company\u201d feels more behavioral than categorical. What inspired this shift from tool-based branding to a more psychological, almost pedagogical position?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Muse has had no trouble getting people to try their tools\u2014they\u2019re inviting and intuitive. In most cases, it takes about ten minutes to grasp the basics. Our aim was to inspire people to keep learning and expand beyond just knowing how to use their tools into understanding them as second nature. We want technical barriers and structures to dissolve into musical flow states.<\/p>\n

Creative Fluency isn\u2019t something you can simply communicate to customers; it requires shared organizational understanding so that everyone working on Muse Group\u2019s products and marketing recognizes this is the real end goal.<\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Suprematism,<\/strong><\/strong> musical notation, and sonic vibration are abstract yet emotionally potent sources. How did you translate those references into a coherent and accessible visual language without alienating everyday musicians?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We love Kazimir Malevich. In his Suprematism manifesto, Malevich declared: \u201cUnder Suprematism I understand the primacy of pure feeling in creative art. To the Suprematist, the visual phenomena of the objective world are, in themselves, meaningless; the significant thing is feeling, as such, quite apart from the environment in which it is called forth.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where we began.<\/p>\n

His philosophy aligned perfectly with Muse Group\u2019s ambition and the purpose behind Creative Fluency. Just as Suprematism sought to transcend literal representation in favor of pure emotional expression, we wanted to capture something more fundamental: the feeling of musical creation in itself. A big ambition, but there it is. <\/p>\n

Why think small?<\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The way we see it, mirroring common genre aesthetics and familiar tropes is alienating. It tells people exactly what to feel rather than inspiring them to find their own, new understanding.. While others emphasize complicated engineering or complex tool precision, Muse Group\u2019s identity takes a different approach. Instead of showcasing technical specifications or ridiculously complicated interfaces, we center the story around the raw experience of musical creation. Rather than depicting the many tools, we visualize the outcomes\u2014resonance, harmony, and breakthroughs that happen when technical barriers dissolve.<\/p>\n

Muse Group is not just a \u201csoftware company.\u201d It is a vital creative partner in making music. And that emotional resonance is a key part of it.<\/p>\n

To that end, we\u2019ve applied Suprematist principles in our thinking:<\/p>\n