Hosted by policy expert Vass Bednar and produced by Katrina Onstad, Lately is a business and tech podcast from The Globe and Mail about navigating life in the new economy. Aimed at GenZ and Millenials, the weekly 30-minute dispatches break down the latest business headlines and defining tech trends — from digital serfdom, to the enshitiffication of everything online, the ADHD economy, and more.

We worked closely with illustrator Rose Wong, playing to her strengths to simplify and distill the essence of the show into a compelling cover illustration. As visual impact and legibility at a very small scale were important, we chose a friendly modern sans-serif typeface with generous counters and opted for a punchy Y2K-reminiscent colour palette.

The final identity is approachable, bold and fun — the cover matches the tone of the show and stands out in the user's library.

Fun fact: the Lately podcast scores an impressive 4.9/5★ rating across streaming platforms.

Every entrepreneur has a defining moment — a turning point that shapes their journey and business. The Moment podcast by Canadian Business and Quill brings listeners inside the pivotal moments that define the journeys of Canada’s most innovative founders and entrepreneurs — their biggest breakthroughs and the risks that changed everything.

Taking the core idea behind the podcast and placing it at the centre of the identity, we chose an decorative serif typeface and purposely set it off kilter. The result is a timeless wordmark with a contemporary feel.

For the cover, we set the portraits of the two hosts against a soft lavender tone that feels modern and inclusive. The final cover is friendly and reflects the podcast's novel approach to business and tech.

We tried to envision a larger context for the identity through animation — the essence of the wordmark can be distilled and used to create dynamic episode covers that establish continuity and can generate engagement in a digital context.

The episode covers can also exist in other contexts — from web-based media tools and device-specific audio apps, to motion on larger screens in out-of-home scenarios.

It would have been so fun to produce swag — can't you just picture the mug in the BTS reels?

Client
The Globe and Mail (Lately)
Canadian Business & Quill (The Moment)
Studio of Record
Studio Wyse
Creative Direction
Vanessa Wyse
My Role
Senior Designer / Project Lead
BTW
These case studies rely on photo-based mockups to show the extent of the identity system and aplications.