Designing Podcast Cover Art for Global Brands

Rebranding the Financial Times Podcast Suite to Elevate Their Audio Identity

The Financial Times has one of the most recognizable visual identities in media. Salmon paper. Serious type. A century of editorial authority. So when they asked me to redesign their entire podcast suite, ten shows under one cohesive brand, the challenge was holding two things at once: making each show feel distinct, while making all of them feel like they lived under the same brand roof.

How Good Projects Find You

It all started with a piece of writing that found the right reader. I published this article about designing podcast cover art in 2023 and it slowly grew into my most read article, by far. By late 2024, as that post had quietly carved out a niche corner of the internet, I got a message from the Financial Times’ audio team. They liked my work and wanted to talk.

What resonated was a combination of things: my independent studio work (Missing Richard Simmons, the “Ave Maria Bamford” comedy special, etc), but also my time at Spotify, where I worked on podcast visual identity that was designed to operate under a larger brand system. This was exactly the experience this project needed.

The brief was substantial: a full redesign of ten FT podcasts, along with platform assets, channel branding, and marketing materials. We needed to think not just about how each show should stand alone, but how the entire slate looked together as a unified group. Here’s what the previous slate looked like, where each show could stand on its own, but together they didn’t sit comfortably.

…Read the full article on Medium!

The Graphics That Shape Us

How BMX culture taught me design as a visual language

Growing up, my family spent most of their time in questionable financial territory. Three kids plus a matrix of creative budgeting to give us the semblance of a normal life. And to my parents credit, it worked. I never felt deprived and I got a crash course in the value of a dollar.

So it was a huge deal in 1996 when, as a 6th grader, I got a GT Dyno BMX bike from them.

Back then, GTs and Dynos were the top of the heap, the holy grail. These bikes were different. They had a cool shape, they were louder in their design, they had personality and an edge to them. Mine was a bronzy gold with a metallic sheen to it. It said DYNO across the bar in big, red lettering. It came with a part called a gyro, which allowed you to spin the handlebars all the way around without the brake cables tangling. This might as well have been part of a spaceship. I still remember having an excuse to go out to the garage just to gaze upon my glorious hunk of metal.

…Read full article on Medium!

From Streetwear to Madison Square

How a Designer Started Making Custom NBA Jerseys

There’s something very satisfying about turning your digital designs and artwork into something physical and tactile. Something you can actually touch — embroidered thread, stitched tags, heavy cotton. It feels more official. It feels finished. This stage of a project always excites me, whether it’s a digital piece becoming a mural or simply seeing your logo on a T-shirt. There’s a great finality to it. It translates the work to a medium that people outside of my little design bubble can instantly connect with.

Up until a few years ago, my work mostly lived in digital form — sometimes printed, sometimes turned into merch — but rarely did it cross over into fashion or sports apparel in any meaningful way.

Tim McAuliffe, Casey Bannerman & Karl-Anthony Towns: Custom jersey delivery

That started to shift after I met Casey Bannerman at a basketball art show in 2019. We were both part of a group exhibition for the Philadelphia 76ers called Crossover. Thousands of fans came out for it, including Philly legends like Dr. J and Ben Simmons (lol), and sales of the artwork raised over $50K for the Sixers Youth Foundation.

Casey and I clicked right away — we talked hoops, illustration, and the overlap of design and culture. He was already gaining attention for printing his artwork on custom basketball jerseys, and I was intrigued. We kept in touch and reconnected at future shows.

…Read full article on Medium!

How to Design Eye-Catching Podcast Cover Art

5 Tips for Creating the Best Podcast Cover Art

As a former member of the Spotify podcast marketing team, I’ve been a frontline witness to the rapidly growing medium of podcasting. As of 2023, there are over 5 million podcasts and 70 million episodes available on the platform alone. With such a vast number of shows, it’s crucial to make a great first impression and stand out with eye-catching podcast cover art and show packaging. Impactful designs can not only attract listeners but also contribute to brand recognition, audience engagement, and enhance the overall listener experience.

In this article, we’ll provide tips for creating compelling podcast designs that meet platform requirements and guide you through the process of creating outstanding cover art.

…Read full article on Medium!

Podcast cover art

How to Create an Epic Illustrated Mural: A Digital Artist’s Guide

Have you ever thought about what it takes to make a large scale mural as a digital artist but weren’t sure where to begin? I’ve received many questions about this over the years and I’ve struggled to find the right resources to provide satisfactory answers, so I decided to make my own comprehensive walkthrough on the subject.

Hero Mural for Oakley Store NYC

In this article, I’ll take you on a deep dive into the creative process behind making a large mural for a triple-A client using only digital tools. Drawing on my own experience of creating an NFL mural for Oakley’s flagship store in New York City, I’ll share valuable insights into everything from working with clients to designing the hero image while navigating technical constraints.

…Read full article on Medium!