Rich Tips is one of two podcast covers that I designed for Listen Money Matters. Both shows are available exclusively to members of the awesome Listen Money Manners Community. Andrew and his team at Listen Money Matters are working to put together the “ultimate personal finance resource” and I’ve been a big fan of the podcast for years so I was pumped to take on this project and help them pursue that goal. The format of Rich Tips is that Andrew takes some extra time with the guests from the main LMM podcast to dig in a little deeper and unearth specific tips and resource recommendations. My familiarity with the larger LMM brand and interest in personal finance gave me a bit of head start in creating some effective cover art for this podcast.
Since Rich Tips is available exclusively to LMM Community members, we know that they are more than just casually interested in personal finance. This interest could be due to some sort of financial distress, specific monetary goals, or just general financial nerdiness. The LMM audience is largely made up of millennials which carries over to the Rich Tips listeners. We know that podcast subscriber have some level of comfort with technology and strong connection with the established brand.
Finally, it’s time to put pencil to paper. As usual, I started with brainstorming and sketching to zero in on the symbolism for the final design. A brain is an overt representation representation of intelligence and learning. The audience is looking to improve their financial lives by absorbing the wisdom of the expert guests that Andrew brings on. Since the listeners are already a part of the LMM community, the ‘money’ imagery can be much more subtle.
After exploring a few different directions, I settled on the partially obscured wallet; the main focus remains the brain. Though a few different palettes were considered, I ultimately chose to take advantage of the brand equity and stick with the LMM colors. The eye-catching green reinforces the idea of ‘finance’ and balances well with the darker blue. White gives a nice, bright contrast to piece and works with the geometric sans serif font to make the text strong and legible.
The final cover art is clear and eye-catching. The clean, geometric style feels grounded and reliable; a trustworthy source for financial wisdom. The bright colors bring some levity to the piece; after all, the show is fun to listen to. The cover replicates extremely well at small sizes; remaining legible and communicating its message at a glance.