Make Waves: Give an Intangible Experience a Flexible Visual Language

Read the campaign story

Yamaha introduced Make Waves at the January 2019 NAMM show, with worldwide implementation announced for April. Contemporary coverage credits Zag and describes wave-based graphics paired with artist photography and stories. A production portfolio documents a related dealer film. These expressions are one family; later formats and regional communication are not treated as new platform launches.

Editorial interpretation: an intangible experience creates a challenge for visual communication. A brand may want to express the variety of listening and making without relying only on photographs of equipment. A flexible metaphor can provide continuity across that range. Its usefulness depends on the relationship it establishes, not simply on attractive movement. The same visual language should allow different intensities and interpretations without implying that all music produces the same feeling or that a particular response is the correct one.

The sources establish the intended identity and specific production roles, not independent evidence of emotional transformation, personal progress or commercial growth. The graphics are creative interpretation, not acoustic measurements. This study does not claim to have viewed unavailable historical video or listened to campaign audio. The adaptation uses original static shapes and fictional descriptions, with no music playback, performance task, copyrighted recording or request for personal emotional disclosure.

Define the relationship that makes the metaphor relevant

Explain what the visual treatment is intended to connect before choosing its style. A wave may suggest variation, continuity or an effect that travels, but those meanings should not be assumed to be identical for every viewer. A fictional reading event could use changing line patterns to distinguish quiet reflection from animated discussion without claiming to measure either experience. Ask reviewers what relationship they infer from the pattern alone and with a short explanation. If the connection remains arbitrary, reconsider the metaphor rather than adding more elaborate decoration to an unclear idea.

Create range within the system instead of a fixed emotional code

A flexible identity should accommodate different contexts without assigning one universal feeling to a colour, shape or tempo. Specify a small set of visual relationships and allow variation within them. A small team can compare original static examples that differ in density and spacing while keeping the same information hierarchy. Ask whether the examples feel related and whether any suggested interpretation is too narrow. Do not label a viewer’s different response as incorrect. The objective is a useful family resemblance, not a claim that visual form can reliably diagnose or produce a particular emotional state.

Check whether the identity still works when motion is unavailable

A system built around movement also needs to communicate on a printed card, a still image or a reduced-motion presentation. Test those conditions from the beginning rather than treating them as lesser versions. A small organisation can present the same fictional notice with a static pattern and with plain text, checking whether essential information remains equally clear. The visual device should support recognition without becoming the only way to understand the message. If it requires sound, rapid movement or subtle colour distinctions, provide an equivalent route that preserves the practical meaning and leaves the sensory interpretation optional.

A small test for another brief

Proposed adaptation: a fictional adult reading event could use three original static line patterns for different kinds of session, accompanied by clear written descriptions. Compare a consistent pattern family with unrelated decorative shapes while keeping the event information unchanged. Ask consenting adults what connects the examples and whether the descriptions remain understandable without the graphics. Make no claim that a pattern represents anyone’s actual feelings. The exercise tests coherence and interpretive flexibility, not emotion induction, musical response, therapeutic benefit or historical brand effectiveness.

Record perceived family resemblance, the meanings viewers infer and comprehension of the written information. Note varied interpretations rather than forcing agreement. Separate visual preference from evidence of emotional effect, personal development or commercial value.

Stop if the system labels feelings as universal, obscures essential information, requires sensory exposure or implies that an artistic metaphor is a measured physical phenomenon.

• Create original shapes without copying the campaign’s visual assets.
• Keep practical descriptions readable and independent of colour or pattern.
• Include a complete plain-text alternative and no audio or animation.