The Association of Independents in Radio (AIR) is a growing network of audio industry professionals. Recently, there has been a seismic shift in the way radio and multimedia storytelling is produced and consumed. But AIR’s visual identity and website reflected old ways of thinking, and weren’t keeping pace with the rapidly evolving field.
Together, Teal and AIR transformed the way AIR expresses itself. We modernized AIR’s visual identity to better reflect the vibrancy of AIR’s membership, and we created a website that better meets the needs of this diverse community of professionals.
Research & Discovery
Focusing on AIR’s community of members
To create a cohesive strategy for the new brand and website, Teal started with research. We began with in-depth learning sessions with internal stakeholders, audience interviews, analytics reviews, and online surveys. We topped our research off with an interactive workshop to generate ideas for the new direction of the AIR brand and gain alignment around our path forward.
Our research and discovery set the tone for the rest of the project, and established that the AIR brand and website needed to feel welcoming, supportive, and useful for the diverse audio professionals who make up the AIR community.
Teal analyzed user data, created audience personas, and mapped their user journeys to make sure that the new brand and website we created for AIR was always focused on our target audiences.
A Community-Focused Visual Brand
Enthusiastic builders of space
AIR has a deep history of offering resources and connections to support and grow the AIR community. The new visual identity we built for AIR needed to honor this history and appeal to loyal members, while still feeling fresh and nimble enough to attract new members in a constantly shifting environment. AIR’s role is to serve as a connector, facilitator, and “enthusiastic builder of space,” enabling audio professionals at all levels of experience to learn, network, and thrive. Together, we created a visual identity that embraces this role, and reflects AIR’s core values of access, expertise, connection, and forward-thinking.
When creating the new AIR logo, Teal and AIR focused on a concept of a non-exact geometric shape to lean into the fact that the audio space is evolving and shifting, and AIR is shifting with it. As the AIR team says, the new logo “embraces the ideas that AIR is breaking out of expected boundaries.”
The elements that make up the new AIR visual identity are bold and warm, showcasing the vibrancy of the AIR community through the bright color palette, minimal typography and striking illustration style.
Because the audio field is changing so rapidly, different people have very different types of relationships with AIR. This meant that the AIR logo couldn’t make people feel “boxed in” to one approach or way of operating. The abstract logo shape illustrates this concept of a space that is open and ready to become whatever a specific member needs in a given moment.
Teal created additional organizational collateral for AIR to ensure a consistent and cohesive brand experience.
Bringing the experience online
Showcasing a vibrant community
The website that Teal designed and developed for AIR builds on the theme of offering a space the the user can customize, based on her own individual needs. We created a structure that organizes content by “type” of user they are: Job Seekers, Community Seekers, Talent Seekers, Resource Seekers, making it quick and easy for people to find the information and make the types of connections that are the right fit for them.
Our discovery research showed we needed to plan for an appealing public-facing site, as well as a robust member admin where members can manage their profile, apply for jobs, look for talent, and connect to community forums. We built a detailed site architecture, and crafted wireframes to account for all use cases.
The clean, modern visual design Teal created speaks to the AIR brand values of community, inclusivity, and building a space for audio professionals.
Our research told us that it was critical that the new website do a better job of showcasing the diversity and talent of the AIR community. The site that Teal built for AIR puts its members at the center of the experience, highlighting success stories, and elevating AIR’s talent right on the homepage.
Our research also told us that one of the top needs on the AIR website is to search for jobs. Our new design elevates the Job Search feature, displaying it prominently on the homepage, and inviting users to begin their search right away.
AIR wants to be the go-to resource for tools and resources for audio professionals. We elevated featured resources on the homepage, allowing users to search for more with robust filtering if they want to drill down.
In our research phase, we heard from our audience interviews that it was really important to make it clear what value AIR offers its members. We brought this content front & center on the website, pairing it with large calls to action to sign up and reap the benefits of membership.
Together Teal and AIR created a new website that:
Clearly communicates the value, benefits, and structure of AIR membership
Offers a streamlined and intuitive user experience, making relevant information easy to find and act on
Provides a robust source for independent audio professional to find jobs
Showcases the diversity and talent of the AIR community
Serves as an online community for audio professionals to connect with others, based on location and on shared interest
Houses a large library of resources for audio professionals to learn new skills and further their careers
We built the AIR website with responsiveness and accessibility in mind, ensuring that it’s easy to use and navigate for everyone who might want to learn more about AIR and its members.
