This American Life rebrands with new logo by Erik Jarlsson

Radio show and podcast This American Life has rebranded with a new logo by graphic designer Erik Jarlsson. Replacing its entirely type-driven previous logo, the new logo is more flexible with an icon and accompanying wordmark. Erik’s design for the icon combines an American flag and speech bubble, using a simplified flag stripped back to a square and three stripes, the base stripe forming the point of the bubble.

The wordmark uses Mercury by foundry Hoefler & Co, a typeface originally developed for a newspaper chain. This conveys the show’s solid reputation for reporting, and – compared with the previous bold, all-caps type – gives the branding maturity, clarity and a more classic image. Meanwhile the icon can stand alone on various applications of the brand, from the website to promotional imagery and merchandise.

A revamped website designed by Studio Rodrigo also brings together the show’s archive of episodes, articles and videos, with accompanying illustration and photography, and says it’s in the process of commissioning “tons” more.

This American Life will also have a new app for iOS and Android designed by Black Pixel out soon.