TED Audio Collective

Role: Art Director, Brand Creative
Team: Mike Femia, Casey Walter, Sarah Lee, Sarah Jane Souther, Anand Upender, Anna Phelan, Michelle Quint, Banban Cheng, Roxanne Hai Lash, Colin Helms

The TED Audio Collective is a collection of podcasts for the curious, exploring topics ranging from psychology and design to science and technology. As the Art Director for the Audio Collective, my primary responsibility was to develop a cohesive visual identity and design system that could be applied across all our podcasts, including new TED originals, legacy shows, and external acquisitions. The goal was to create a flexible design system that could be adapted to various touchpoints and platforms, such as Apple, YouTube, social media, and marketing decks, while maintaining a consistent and recognizable TED-like presence.

To achieve this, we utilized a typographic-forward approach for all top-level applications, using Helvetica Now to maintain a through-line between Audio Collective and the TED brand. We also developed a simple TED logo system for podcast naming that created a balance between podcasts that used and those that did not use TED in their name.

In addition to designing the visual identity for the Audio Collective as a whole, I led the design for all new podcasts, from conceptualization to final delivery. This involved collaborating with our Audio and Audience Development teams, and an array of freelance artists, to ensure that each show had a unique visual identity that resonated with its content and target audience. I also led design for all marketing initiatives, both digital and out-of-home, to ensure that our messaging and visual identity were consistent and impactful across all touch points.

Since the launch of the TED Audio Collective, our podcasts have gained immense popularity and have consistently been rated among the best in the market.

More than 1.65 million people around the world download TED’s podcasts every day, and Apple has recognized TED Audio Collective as one of the most popular channels worldwide on Apple Podcasts.