Podcast Logo Project
for Dr. Heidi Brooks’ new podcast with Yale School of Management
Illustration, Branding, Collaboration with another Designer
In collaboration with: Dave McClinton
Background
Dr. Heidi Brooks, a Yale professor and senior lecturer.
What did she need?
A logo for her new podcast, sponsored by Yale.
Why did she need it?
She needed a logo that conveyed her new podcast’s goals.
The Challenge
Wanting to differentiate herself from other professors, Dr. Brooks is a unique one, wanting folks from all walks of life to feel comfortable listening to her podcast and cultivating community. She needed to convey credibility, a comfortable learning space as a podcast, and stand out in the educational and inspirational podcast space.
The Strategy
To understand Dr. Brooks and what made her podcast different, I dug deeper and guided her in a chat about her main competitors, specifically in the podcast and content creation space. She identified edu-tainment podcasters who were loud, bold, and bombastic in their delivery and visual brand, but also discussed leadership learning with their communities. So, this logo called for a mixture of calm, welcoming, community building. Dr. Brooks really emphasized that her podcast was open to learners and people from all walks of life.
Dr. Brooks came with elements of an older personal visual brand identity, that had lots of nature photography and textures, and I pulled from those for inspiration. Her personal brand largely influenced the brand values of the podcast:
Empowerment: The podcast encourages listeners to take control of their own learning journey and empowers them to cultivate wisdom from their experiences.
Curiosity: Embracing a curious mindset is essential to learning through experience. The podcast values curiosity as a driving force for personal growth and exploration.
Authenticity: Dr. Heidi Brooks and her guests share genuine stories and insights, fostering an environment of authenticity where listeners can connect with the real experiences of others.
Community: The podcast creates a sense of community among listeners who are on a shared journey of learning and personal development, fostering connections and support networks.
Continuous Growth: Learning is seen as an ongoing process, and the podcast emphasizes the importance of continuous growth and self-improvement in all aspects of life.
Open-mindedness: The podcast encourages listeners to challenge their perspectives and remain open to new ideas, experiences, and ways of thinking.
The Solution
Initial Concepts
Lots of amorphous shapes = Community of lots of different types of people move forward together in learning.
No clear hierarchy of shapes = Dr. Brooks expressed that she’s not a “boss” but a leader, learning among the community.
Different Colors = Dr. Brooks welcomes folks at all points of the learning journey.
Warm colors = Dr. Brooks emphasized that she’s not a super professorial type (stuffy or pretentious, those are my words) and that she’s more warm. Represent approachability, kindness, and positivity.
Cool colors = Represent credibility, noble, true dependable, calm.
Create a logo system that reflects the community building, warm, welcome, and calm atmosphere.
Represent Dr. Brooks’ community through nature inspired illustration elements. Draw from elements of Dr. Brooks old brand: nature, water, and combine with new references I chose that reflected ripples, forward movement, groups of elements that move together, to visually represent calm and groups learning together.
Reuse some colors from her old brand to retain familiarity and existing values.
Create a logo that stands out and is easily recognizable on the “Recommended” podcast listings, which are usually the podcast cover, and are way too busy to be easily read, and usually searched for on mobile devices!
The Results
The client felt heard since we both listened intently to the keywords and the vibe of her new podcast. She loved the new logos and chose one of the icons I created!
Dr. Brooks’ podcast is now on a second season, and has a 4.8/5 star reviews on Apple Podcast and 5/5 stars on Spotify!
I create repeating “tiles” from the ripple icon. These will become a repeating pattern, a graphic element or banner, or a single abstract icon for the client’s use!
