Branding Fish Sounds

Illustrations and diagrams by Tomato Lab, created for our client FishEye Collaborative, were recently published in the British Ecological Society’s journal Methods in Ecology and Evolution. Part of a larger web buildout and branding project, the illustrations were developed alongside a broader scene-building schema—or toolbox—crafted to meet the standards of scientific literature while maintaining a plain-language visual style and brand consistency.

A close up view of a magazine spread shows a scientific illustration of an underwater scene with a diver recording fish sounds as well as another fish recording array - black helper text overlays the image which is blue and teal

A close up view of a magazine spread shows a scientific illustration of an underwater scene with fish in an aquarium making sounds to be recorded as well as an underwater scene below - black helper text overlays the image which is blue and teal

Fish species silhouettes, coral reefs, rocks, and oceanic accompaniments were all hand-designed for future use cases. Seeing these published in a scientific journal was a wonderful way to transition out of the summer season.

The cover of the journal Methods in Ecology and Evolution is shown on a gray background

A magazine spread is shown with a scientific diagram showing various ways to record fish sounds underwater

The publication was picked up by several press outlets. The Washington Post, Earth.com, Nautilus, and even an episode of NPR’s All Things Considered (among others) featured FishEye’s work, drawing many curious eyes to the newly launched website and fish sound library we designed for the team. Overall, it was a great test run for the aquatic branding and visual identity to gain some real-world exposure above the surface.

Two screenshots of a website are shown, the website is a fish sound library and it shows a grid of illustrated fish

Two mobile device mockups are shown with a website on each - the first is a fish sound library and the second is an FAQ section about fish sounds

Another wonderful compliment was seeing their hardware sub-brand put our logo designs to use on compact hydrophone prototypes. Scattered across tropical reef sites around the world, the logo-adorned modules now rest on the seafloor between coral villages, quietly watching fish swim by until they’re collected by divers for analysis. Initial locations include Palau, the Great Barrier Reef, Curaçao, Wakatobi National Park, and Mozambique.

Three screenshots of a video are shown, they show a diver placing an underwater hydrophone device near some coral reefs to record fish sounds passively — Screenshots from FinDrop: Accessible Acoustic Monitoring for Mesophotic Marine Environments

Between leafing through vintage coral reef books, learning the subtle differences between fish-fin silhouettes, and designing an interface deserving of renowned and celebrated scientific Field Guide illustrator and author Val Kells (no pressure!)—whose beautiful illustrations were licensed for the project (thanks, Marc)—this was a fascinating and absorbing project to swim around in.

A photo of 4 pieces of coral next to two books - one book is A Field Guide to Coastal Fishes and the other is A Field Guide to Coral Reefs, both books show some wear and tear - the books are on a desk surrounded by coral and sea sponges and a vintage underwater camera

We’re looking forward to seeing where the FishEye crew takes the brand in the coming years as the science and technology propel it forward. 🐟 🐡 🤿

For more on the branding and approach, as well as a closer look at some of the deliverables, view the full case study.