The History Chicks

“Two women. Half the population. Several thousand years of history. About an hour.”

Year

2022

Passion Project

Brand Identity
Website Wireframes
Interactive Timeline
Merchandise Mockup

The History Chicks is a podcast by Beckett Graham and Susan Vollenweider. As a podcast trailblazer, they have over ten years of experience creating podcast content with extensive research and unique subjects. Their goal is to “...introduce you to female characters in history, factual or fictional via our podcast and show-notes. An introduction, an overview and a little push to explore and learn more on your own.”
“You want to know how the women are remembered, how their legacies live on and how you can learn more. We can do that!”.

The goal: to elevate the perceived value of The History Chicks podcast with a revitalized brand identity, landing page, merchandise concepts, and an interactive timeline.

Current/Desired Perception

Excellent content but dated visuals. Desires to have a brand identity that captures the topic: influential women from throughout history, as well as the legitimacy and experience that Susan and Beckett have in hosting a podcast.
A mind map of The History Chicks

Brand Strategy

The design process began with mind mapping, followed by mood boards. Some of the key considerations that went into the mind mapping designs were that their tone and manner of presenting their content are:
  • Conversational
  • Engaging
  • Down to Earth
  • Intelligent
  • Original
  • Bold
  • Podcast is geared towards adults, but is appropriate for children and young adults to listen to as well

Moodboard 1

A moldboard featuring imagery to inspire the direction of The History Chicks rebrand.
This mood board set the stage for the direction of the design. However, through some guidance, I was encouraged to focus on the quirky, enthusiastic elements of The History Chicks’ podcast to encourage a newer listership and diversify the audience. Bolder colours and design were the result.

Preliminary sketches

Conceptual sketches.

logo concepts

The progression of sketches for the primary logo.

Wordmark Concept

The History Chicks word mark concept.

Logo Concept

The History Chicks primary logo initial concept.

Sub-Logo Concept

The History Chicks sub-logo concept

Brand Colour Palette

This primary palette was chosen for it's bold brand recognition. The brand is primarily represented by this colour palette, however the secondary palette is used sparingly for emphasis and to help create distinction.
Primary Palette
The History Chicks primary colour palette.
Secondary Palette
The History Chicks secondary colour palette.

Final Designs

A primary logo, word mark, and animated logo were all created to accommodate for the variety of places that the brand will be displayed and applied to.
The History Chicks animated logo.
Before
The History Chicks original logo.
After
The History Chicks final logo.
Final Logo Designs
The History Chicks brand logos.
Brand Pattern
Fonts

Podcast Album Covers

The primary album cover was created with the purpose of standing out from the competition with bold, on-brand colours and imagery. It features the primary logo and a background of the brand pattern on Chicks Pink. A range of secondary, on-brand album covers were created for promoting curiosity, interest, and for categorizing each episode.

A mockup of what The History Chicks' album cover looks like on Spotify.
A mockup of what The History Chicks' album covers look like on Spotify

Landing Page & Timeline Walk-Through

Using Figma, I created a landing page as well as a episode blog page and an interactive timeline featuring women from the 19th century. This timeline concept was what originally brought on the idea of revitalizing The History Chicks' brand. A revitalized website draws in new listeners and diversify their audience and a visual aid like a timeline can help listeners to understand the broader picture and connect world events. Click the laptop to view the interactive elements of the landing page and timeline through the form of a guided walkthrough.

A mockup of The History Chicks' new website on a MacBook Pro
A mockup of The History Chicks website on two MacBook Pros sitting side by side.
A mockup of The History Chicks interactive timeline shown on a MacBook Pro screen.

Vinyl Merchandise Mockup

On its own, a podcast is physically non-material. These 10th anniversary edition vinyl collections create a tactile experience for dedicated listeners.

A mockup of The History Chicks' 10th anniversary collection "Authors & Artisans" vinyl collections.
A mockup of The History Chicks' 10th anniversary collection "Women & War" vinyl collections.A mockup of The History Chicks' 10th anniversary collection "Changemakers" vinyl collections.A mockup of The History Chicks' 10th anniversary collection "Women of the 19th Century" vinyl collections.

I have been listening to The History Chicks' podcast for nearly a year and because of them I have learned so much about women that I had heard of and that were new to me. This "just for fun" passion project was an exciting opportunity to put research and empathy to good use and transform a brand's visuals.

Next Project

Madeleine Scott Design

All Content ©

hello@madeleinescott.designBlack Instagram icon