I art directed and designed the brand identity for NPR's debut season of Louder Than Riot, a podcast examining the complex relationship between hip-hop culture and the criminal justice system. The project required extensive collaboration across departments—from marketing to editorial—to ensure the visual approach honored both the gravity of the subject matter and the dignity of the artists featured.

The creative challenge centered on avoiding victimization narratives while empowering the hip-hop community through thoughtful design choices. Rather than relying on predictable imagery like prison bars or dated graffiti aesthetics, we sought to recontextualize hip-hop's visual language entirely. The editorial team specifically requested podcast artwork that would reveal deeper layers of meaning with repeated viewing. My solution drew directly from the show's title, creating typography that functions as both bold statement and visual metaphor—the letterforms pulse with speaker-like energy while sound wave patterns flow throughout the design, literally making the type "louder" and giving physical form to the podcast's sonic activism.