Visuals are one of the most important aspects of promoting any brand. A podcast, which is an auditory discussion of speakers, also requires some visuals to grab the audience. A great brand logo can help the podcast catch the attention of new listeners and expand its reach and subscriber count.
A podcast logo is displayed on the full-fledged podcast cover art. No matter how interesting the podcast topic is, engaging the podcast’s audience with an attractive design will speak volumes. Remember the famous phrase “a picture speaks a thousand words?” This is exactly what the cover art phenomena is based on.
So, if you want to design a podcast logo to make your cover art look fascinating and get it featured on streaming players, read the entire article for some tips and tricks on designing a podcast logo.
1. Understand the theme behind the logo
Think of the logo as a perfect representation of the podcast, which means you need to understand what the podcast is all about. As a graphic designer, ask the podcast team to explain to you what the podcast will be about, where it will be uploaded, and what kind of audience it will target. You need to have all those points to make a striking logo that creates an appealing impression. Remember, a logo is an essential part of a brand since all the branding materials will have it.
2. Effective brainstorming
Now you know what the podcast is all about and have a clear idea about its theme, audience, and platform as well. Before you open Adobe Illustrator and add in all the design elements you can, you might need to brainstorm on paper and think like an audience. A good designer designs with the eye of the brand’s audience in mind. Jot down all the brainstormed designs and ideas irrespective of how good and bad they are. Sometimes all the designs combine to form one perfect design and sometimes the brainstorming leads you to fully realize the brand’s visual elements.
You may consider gathering inspiration from the podcast’s competitors. Use a search engine and type keywords pertaining to the podcast’s show type. Check out the types of designs that attract the target audience most and what trend is in these days. Be inspired by what you find to create a logo that is totally unique.
3. Test out different designs
When you have loads of ideas on your desk, it’s time to translate them to your favorite design software. You may have the ideas on paper but translating requires some components that come into play like colors, shapes, typography, and aesthetics.
There are various design aesthetics one can choose from but for the podcast logo: modern and minimalist, or fun and quirky, etc. Decide on the design aesthetic that best fits the content of the podcast and will resonate with its target audience most. For example, a true-crime podcast logo may have a more serious aesthetic than one about Goldendoodles. Choose the best colors, shapes, and typography that match the podcast’s aesthetic.
4. Play with colors, logos, and typography
Here comes the part where you will be implementing the elements onto the design you chose. Colors and typography will complete the podcast logo.
Generally, there are seven types of logo styles you can choose from: lettermarks, wordmarks, pictorial marks, abstract logo marks, combination mark, emblems, and mascots. For podcasts, lettermarks, wordmark, abstract or combination mark seems suitable since the podcast logo shall depict initials, words, or a combination of symbols and words.
Next, you must add typography to the logo icon (if the logo isn’t out of the company name or initials). Typography is what completes the logo. The font used for typography depends upon the design aesthetics you choose for the logo. Serif fonts tend to give the logo a classic and high-end look which may create a vintage look to the logo. San serif fonts will suit a podcast logo with a more modern and minimalistic look. Combining various types of fonts will help you to create striking typography and can attract an audience.
The last step is to choose the colorway of the podcast logo. Colors are really important in graphics. If the right colors are not chosen, then the design will fail to attract the audience. Decide on the colors that best match your design aesthetic and you definitely don’t need to stick to just one color logo. One-color logos work but it is better to combine colors to give a dynamic look.
5. Review if it suits the podcast
Now that you have the design ready, make sure to evaluate your logo on the following points:
- The logo is unique and distinctive
- The logo appeals to the audience
- The logo immediately reflect the podcast
- The logo fits in every size poster or other artwork to be posted anywhere
- The logo is versatile
- The logo is memorable and is easily recognizable to its audience
- The logo is timeless and wouldn’t need to be redesigned after a couple of years.
Conclusion
The podcast logo could be the first thing potential listeners see when browsing podcast shows. Use these tips and tricks to confidently design a great podcast logo that will make an impact. The most important thing is to attract the podcast’s audience with that logo and that it can be adapted throughout the podcast’s social media posts, websites, and streaming players.
