UMG Connect
Music and media
Brand, Logo design, Content design, UI
A refreshed identity for UMG's flagship startup incubation program
Two brands that needed to sit together without losing themselves
UMG Connect is Universal Music Group's flagship two-month startup incubation program, pairing emerging music-tech companies with mentorship and strategic collaboration from UMG executives. Launched in 2021, it had grown into a serious part of UMG's Digital Innovation portfolio, but the brand hadn't kept pace. Alongside it sat UMusic Lift, which had just been refreshed, and the two programs needed to feel part of the same family without Connect losing its own voice. The brief was to update and elevate the brand to match the ambition of the program.
Brand extension, logo, UI and content
We took the refreshed UMusic Lift system as the foundation, then built UMG Connect as a clear sibling rather than a copy. A new logo designed to sit confidently alongside Lift, a colour and visual language that shared DNA but had its own character, and a suite of content and UI templates to roll the identity out across the program's touch points. The work included the email framework, webpage templates and editorial design needed to keep the incubation program communicating clearly across a two-month cohort.
Two brands, one family, each with its own identity
UMG Connect now sits as a distinct program within UMG's Digital Innovation portfolio, cohesive with UMusic Lift but unmistakably its own thing. A visual system built for the cadence of an incubation program, and a foundation the Digital Innovation team can extend as new initiatives like Ignite and Pulse come into the fold.
