CONCEPT

I chose to rebrand the podcast, Conspiracy Theories & Unpopular Culture, to have a mysterious and archaic look and feel. I was excited to create a dark and mystical project that encompassed occult themes, symbolism, history, and conspiracy theories. It made it even better that I got to craft this around the time of Halloween. This project also fulfilled my dream of making a conspiracy board-inspired design.

The original podcast cover does not highlight the strong symbolism and depth in the show. My goals for the redesign were to create a unique solution that is visually eye-catching while playing into the themes of the show’s content.

Art Direction /// Katey Stafford

BLOOD PAINTING

I chose to paint with blood instead of using a more traditional solution like set type. I did this to directly engage with the content of the show. Unfortunately, I do not have a multitude of interns to collect blood samples from so I resorted to Spirit Halloween’s imitation blood. Painting with the fake blood was a challenge to photograph before it dried or crusted over. It was probably for the best though because the fake blood seemed more viscous than I remember real blood to be.

After creating the podcast cover art I designed six additional episode covers. The designs each display the main symbol from that specific episode. In addition to the blood-painted symbols, the date of the episode is set in the corner in blood-colored type. Collaged elements like red string and found images are layered to create the conspiracy board aesthetic.