Impartial radio station Soho Radio is celebrating its tenth anniversary with a brand new look and an bold aim. The station has lately launched a brand-new app, expanded into DAB, and unveiled a refreshed identification by Wonderhood Design, all a part of a mission to achieve a million listeners per week.
It marks a significant milestone for the station, which started life in 2014 from a small studio on Nice Windmill Road. Within the decade since, Soho Radio has constructed a cult following by championing music and subculture with out compromise, refusing to sound like the remainder and treating music style as an ever-evolving journey. The concept has all the time been that radio should not simply ship what you already like, but additionally introduce you to the sudden.
The brand new identification displays that spirit whereas setting the model up for the longer term. It retains the soul of the unique wordmark however surrounds it with a extra versatile and digital-first visible system that captures the station’s freewheeling vitality and deep roots in music tradition.
It is outlined by clashing graphics, lo-fi textures, and design particulars impressed by the chaotic layering of band stickers. Even the merch will get in on the act, emblazoned with slogans like “Ears vast open” and “Go off observe”, which function rallying cries for anybody who desires their listening expertise to remain unpredictable.
“For us, it was clear from our very first assembly with Soho Radio that they shared our drive to do issues otherwise and a deep ardour for the Soho neighborhood,” says Tommy Spitters, design director at Wonderhood Design. “We needed to future-proof their model, retaining it related to their loyal viewers whereas opening the door to new listeners.”
On the coronary heart of the brand new identification are the DJs, musicians, producers, and tastemakers who create the varied and dynamic sounds that make Soho Radio what it’s. Wonderhood Design needed the brand new system to present them room to precise themselves, so that they constructed flexibility into its core.
“As a result of Soho Radio’s vast neighborhood of DJs is a large a part of their DNA, it was necessary to us that the DJs had room to tailor their paintings to characterize them,” Tommy provides. “This was on the coronary heart of all our selections, working to provide a versatile identification which additionally embodied the model’s vitality.
“At its core, a brand new brand that nods to the unique whereas pushing it ahead; a daring image of Soho Radio’s distinctive sound and vitality.”
Wonderhood Design has additionally constructed a bespoke tech software that lets producers and DJs create their very own present belongings. They’ll select color palettes, fonts, and picture remedies that replicate their particular person type, constructing an identification across the very neighborhood that offers Soho Radio its distinctive flavour. It is a shift that empowers the folks behind the exhibits and ensures the model stays as various and exploratory because the music it broadcasts.
Dan Grey, founding father of Soho Radio, says the redesign represents the beginning of “a tremendous new chapter” for the station. He provides: “With a brand new app and web site design by Wonderhood Design, that includes a contemporary identification and dynamic instruments for DJs to create their very own belongings via a variety of designs and color palettes, we’re kicking off a tremendous new chapter.
“Plus, the ‘sticker’ design aesthetic is ideal for the station – daring, enjoyable, and extremely sticky!”
The overhaul additionally extends to the digital expertise. Till now, the Soho Radio app was little greater than a easy holding web page to play the dwell stream.
The redesigned model transforms it into an immersive listening hub, full with a deep archive of exhibits and the flexibility to discover the complete breadth of genres that the station covers. It is all designed to encourage listeners to transcend the acquainted and uncover one thing new.
