File Under : Not My Job (JK, this was my job)

Design project manager, art director, and production for the rebrand of NPR's Oddly Informative News Quiz, Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

Wait Wait had a question that couldn't be answered through witty wordplay. The show needed a visual makeover. Until 2014, Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! was still using its original branding (circa 1998).

Since times do change, the NPR Marketing and Branding team was tasked with giving the show a new look as fresh and timely as the week's headlines.

A redesign is hardly ever as effortless or clean as the final product, and this one required the work of several different departments here at NPR: Programming, Consumer Products, Legal and, of course, the entire Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! crew, too. In Marketing and Branding, we turned to outside designer Mike Casebolt, who was an NPR fan and happy to take the job on.

With me as art director, Casebolt took in all of the feedback and came up with a clear winner: the 'newsclamation point' icon. Well, that's what I like to call it anyway. It cleverly represents the show at its core, while also being bold and unique enough to stand alone. He developed variations on logo typography and color palettes, and I followed by establishing the full system of branded items: t-shirts, tote bags, online brand elements, co-branded ads for Member Stations, and a new visual package for live events.

Now you'll see Casebolt's and my handiwork when you attend a live taping, visit the show's website, or download the podcast.

A peek at one of my favorite parts of the logo process: initial sketches! Photo by Mike Casebolt.

The podcast icon, swag, and stage signage were all big parts of the rebrand after the logo was finalized:

// ACCOLADES: A positive review from Armin Vit for Under Consideration’s Brand New //

The copy in this post was adapted from an original blog post I wrote along with Emerson Brown on NPR.org.

Related work

I'm Still Waiting