Branding, Design System
Nickel & Crime
A True-Crime podcast by Early Warning
Early Warning is a B2B company that leverages bank-contributed data to support over 2,500 institutions in opening new accounts, preventing fraud, and facilitating payments. Best known as the network operator of Zelle, Early Warning has spent more than three decades growing and innovating, offering much more than just anti-fraud technology.
Recognizing the widespread appeal of “True Crime” storytelling, the internal B2B marketing team identified a unique opportunity to tap into the “True Crime Podcast” phenomenon. They decided to share bizarre and wild true crime financial horror stories while educating their customers.
Client: Early Warning Services, LLC
Role: Brand Design Lead
Year: 2022
Problem Definition
My role was to create the branding for this new podcast—developing the logo and design system, which would be applied across print and digital assets. This new sub-brand needed to reference Early Warning’s established branding while also standing out as something distinctly progressive and different from the company’s existing content across other media and segments. The new materials would also need to work well with a variety of digital and print materials, from tiny album artwork in iTunes to on-site, live-broadcast event spaces.
The stakeholder sought to infuse the creative with a witty personality, emphasizing keywords like movement, energy, thrill, and an upbeat tone. The design was to capture the intersection between the physical and digital worlds, utilizing bold colors and a unique approach to negative space to bring this vision to life. And all the while there would need to be pieces of the creative that would remain rooted in the Early Warning branding.
Research
Before I joined the project, moodboards had already been developed, providing excellent references that informed my research. Drawing from these moodboards, I conducted typographic and color explorations, ensuring alignment with the project’s goals. During my initial design phases, the visual motif of a piggy bank consistently emerged, embodying a playful, witty personality that I felt could effectively represent the brand’s character.
Analysis + Concept
A cute-tensions paradox
This concept is play on the word “contention.” I wanted for the visual system to be relatable, accessible, and fun. “True crime” and “financial crimes” feel so serious, but this was a unique opportunity to break out of the world of the serious to a wide world of financial awe. Nickel and Crime—the name of the podcast—became characters: a thoughtfully saving, cute piggy bank and a quirky trash-bandit (raccoon).
Design
A new bold and upbeat color palette was developed, maintaining a connection to the parent brand while introducing a fresh, dynamic energy that aligns with the podcast’s unique identity. As I shaped the characters of the pig and the raccoon, I created the "piggy-coon coin," a symbol that juxtaposes the contrasting traits of these characters. This coin not only adds depth to their personalities but also serves as a clever visual element that reinforces the playful and witty tone of the podcast.
To ensure continuity with Early Warning's branding, I incorporated their brand typeface into this design element, seamlessly tying the visual narrative back to the parent brand. The typography evolved into a cohesive family of typefaces that not only reflect the true-crime theme but also infuse personality into the name lock-up, enhancing the overall branding and making it memorable and distinctive.
