Yvonne Hartmann - Visual Branding in Music

19/05/2026

Missed Superbooth this year, but I still got my gear fix at the Superbooth Warm-Up Party hosted by Orchestral Tools & Neumann, where I had the pleasure of being behind the lens. 📸

While I didn't make it to the main show, catching up with familiar faces made this evening special. Working on your birthday is never very appealing, I'll admit. But this gig was different.

Seeing so many former colleagues from my time at Native Instruments felt particularly meaningful this time around. These industry events always end up feeling like a big family reunion, and this one was no exception. Some things change, the people (and their love for sound) don't. 🖤

Thanks for all the nice chats, to Portriatxo, Madame Gandhi and Mark Reeder for the great tunes and a special thank you to Your Mom's Agency, Boris Kummerer and Graham Ball for another fun gig and the wonderful birthday flowers. 🙏

11/05/2026

Festival season is coming. But is your brand ready for bookers? 👀

I asked festival bookers from across the industry – different sizes, different genres, different roles – what (aside from the music) actually gets an artist noticed.

The answers were clear. Sometimes brutal. Always useful.

Here are 5 branding essentials they look for every time. Swipe through 👉

The quick checklist:

1️⃣ An updated, on-brand EPK
2️⃣ Pro press shots that match your music
3️⃣ A consistent visual language
4️⃣ At least 2 professional live videos
5️⃣ A tailored pitch + intentional social media

The #1 mistake artists make? Poor live footage. Every single booker flagged this.

Link to full article in comments 👇

🙏 Huge thank you to the head bookers, booking committee members, and curators who took the time to share their insights.

29/04/2026

The best shoots aren't directed — they're built together.

With Berlin-based DJ and music producer Wren, every decision was a conversation: the location, the mood, how the edit should feel. That collaborative process is where the real work happens, long before and long after the shutter clicks. It takes longer. It goes deeper. And it shows in the work.

The result isn't my vision of her. It's her vision of herself, made visible.

That's the kind of work I'm here for — and why I always start with a conversation rather than a brief.

🗓️ Taking on new projects from May — happy to chat.

And if you get the chance, catch Wren at Garbicz Festival, Bum Bum Festival, Pinky Promise, or HOUSE QUEENS - you won't regret it!

27/04/2026

A remix EP deserves a remix visual. 🔁

Cover art for Simon Goff's EP “Sparks” and three singles — adapted from original artwork by Ruth Marten. This EP reworks songs from the album “Spark Live Living Mothers”, so it only felt right to rework the existing artwork slightly instead of starting from zero.

Huge thanks to Simon Goff and Heartfelt Management for having me on this project.

Now go listen to Sparks!

23/04/2026

Another great event I got to capture for Neumann earlier this month 🎤✨

At the Neumann Hear Now event, top industry pros shared their insights, tips, and real-world experience with students, emerging artists, producers, and audio creatives.

Thanks to Neumann and Your Mom's Agency for another fun collab!

20/04/2026

This one is coming up fast. I'll be speaking at MUSIC x AFEM Academy (The Association For Electronic Music) in May on branding, visibility, and how the two translate into meaningful results for artists and music communities. If it sounds like your kind of room, come join us.

🔗 Link in comments.

01/04/2026

Talent is the entry fee. But female artists have always been charged twice.

These fifteen women stopped waiting for permission — and built brands so specific, so rooted in who they actually were, that the industry had no choice but to pay attention.

Five philosophies. Fifteen case studies. One question worth sitting with: what is your brand actually built on?

Link to full article in comments!

27/03/2026

Last month I had the pleasure of capturing Neumann Night — an intimate evening hosted by Neumann inside Berlin’s Meistersaal. For a few hours, the room felt transported back to the 1920s.

A small, intentional gathering centered around a live demonstration of the CMV 3 — Neumann’s original condenser microphone — paired with a cutting lathe restored by Emil Berliner Studios, recording direct-to-disc. The piece being recorded was by Kurt Weill, performed by Vladimir Korneev — and for a moment, the past felt very much alive.

What struck me most was the quality of presence in the room — the kind of attention that only exists when people truly want to be there.

Experiences like this remind me that the best thing a camera can do is exactly what that cutting lathe did in the 1920s: ensure nothing is lost.

Grateful to have been part of this one. ✦

06/03/2026

Your music moves people. Your brand makes them stay.
Most artists treat branding as an afterthought — something to figure out once the music is ready. But the artists who've truly changed the industry understood something early: your brand isn't separate from your artistry. It is your artistry, made visible.

This March, I'm celebrating the women who got that right.

More coming soon. 🎵

29/01/2026

“My sound is evolving. Do I need a complete brand makeover?”
“Do I need a separate brand for each project or persona?”

These are 2 of the 10 most frequent branding questions I get from artists and their teams. I've compiled all of them—with answers—in one place.

Get the full list of FAQs and their answers here: 📄⬇️
https://sonicidentity.yvonnehartmann.com/2025/12/10/artist-branding-faqs/

I’ve collected and answered the top 10 artist branding FAQ's artists, labels, and managers have asked me in the past 10 years.