Michelle Obama’s Podcast Gets A Striking Branding That Reflects Her Personality
Image via And/Or
Spotify has commissioned Brooklyn-based creative production studio And/Or to create a visual identity for a new podcast fronted by Michelle Obama.
And/Or faced different challenges while developing the identity for the podcast, most notably not having access to the podcast content when tasked to work on the branding. Nevertheless, the team had to capture Obama’s personality and draw audiences into her first foray in podcasting.
“We started with concepts that drew Michelle’s life and history—illustrating important moments from her life over time in a more stoic tone,” creative director at And/Or Kelli Miller told It’s Nice That. “Because we didn’t have access to the podcast episodes yet, we developed those directions using context from the First Lady’s book, Becoming.”
The “stoic tone,” however, was replaced by a “fun and playful” one. Miller said Spotify was open to lighthearted and fun concepts, which are more in line with the studio’s works. “We pitched a range of visual approaches at that point a cheeky, fun direction, and then one that was bold, type-driven, and colorful, which was ultimately the direction that ended up being developed as the look.”
The final result saw a more minimalist and typographically-led look, with hints of color. “The headline here is Michelle Obama, and our mission was to help that come through, so we were conscious that the graphic should be a support, something that would immediately get to the point and get people excited, and not be too complicated, distracting or overwrought,” And/Or’s creative director Kendra Eash explained.
The overall goal was to amplify Obama’s personality in the podcast while “[communicating] the intention of the podcast.” Having an “elegant typographic solution with a geometric typeface keeps the focus on those ideas,” Miller said. The colorful underline gives a “pop of color and energy to the animation.”
On top of the overall identity, the agency also developed trailers, teasers, and other visual assets for the podcast.
So excited for you to hear the first episode of The #MichelleObamaPodcast with @BarackObama! I wanted to start this season off by discussing our relationship with our community and our country. I hope you'll tune in on @Spotify: https://t.co/iEjVDPIxEs. pic.twitter.com/9svSKNHRZ0
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) July 29, 2020
As women, we often have questions about our bodies—what we know, what we don’t know, what we’re uncertain or anxious about. For me, @smalonemd is the person I turn to talk about health. Listen to our conversation now on @Spotify: https://t.co/79sigEN4wx #MichelleObamaPodcast pic.twitter.com/ZHl1TzBt1h
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) August 12, 2020
[via It’s Nice That, opening image via And/Or]
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