More people discover podcasts every day: Forecasts project total podcast listeners will exceed 160 million by 2023. And findings from Edison Research show there are totally new demographics just waiting to be hooked on a unique voice: While podcasts first attracted a primarily white and male audience, the gender parity for podcast listeners grows closer every day and the audience is now at least as diverse as the American population.
If you’ve decided to start a podcast for yourself, your small business or start-up, it’s likely you’re now thinking about how branding and marketing come into play. And from my experience, that’s a great next step: I can say that along with the content of my actual show, my logo and artwork enticed people to listen to my podcast Making Ways: The Art of Music. But when you are looking into branding, you don't want to look for inspiration from tech logos or real estate logos. You need to delve into the world of podcasting logos (although these famous logos can help you get started).
I started my podcast to connect two things I love: Visual art and music. I always admired that, though each medium is unique, they can intersect to create something bigger and at its best art and music can inspire and reflect one another. Making Ways originally started as a podcast about creative careers, but in 2020, I set a new path for the show to focus on the art of music: Now I interview bands from Khruangbin to Shamir alongside their visual art collaborators. Together, we discover the backstory and meaning behind the art that ends up on album covers, driving their music videos, posters, merchandise and more.
As an illustrator, I wanted to reflect this idea in the logo art for my podcast, and so I came up with a crossbones design but with a twist: a paint brush and microphone take center stage, with an M on top for “Making” and the reflection of the M below as a W underneath for “Ways.” I’ve heard from friends-of-friends, fans and first-time listeners that when they’re scrolling through social or a friend sends them the podcast link, the logo not only piques their interest, but it gives them an accurate first impression of what they’re about to hear.
To help you create your own eye-catching podcast artwork, I thought it might be helpful to go over four common traits most great logos have, plus I’ll share some podcast logos from out in the wild along with insights on why they work. Ideally, this will help bring your podcast to life and draw new listeners in, all before they can even hit play.
Tip: Try creating a website using one of our podcast website templates. A podcast site is a great place for people to learn more about your series, check out show notes and social links, subscribe to your newsletter, and for you to start connecting the dots between listeners and your brand.
What is a podcast logo?
A podcast logo, or podcast artwork, is the visual representation of your podcast, setting the tone for your content in your given genre. This is the visual front door to your show.
Best podcast logos
01. Normal Gossip
Normal Gossip, is a podcast dedicated to second-hand news and juicy gossip about people you don’t know and features a logo created by illustrator, art director and Wix user Tara Jacoby. As host Kelsey McKinney introduces in the very first episode, the gossip on the show is “fun,” “silly," and “about a bunch of people making very strange decisions.” Jacoby’s logo reflects this same cheeky and playful spirit. The colorful imagery evokes the classic children’s game of Telephone, depicting three people speaking into each other’s ears. Its vibrant block colors command attention and the empty lines style with organic, rounded edges and curved lines highlight the casual, fluid motion of gossip.
02. Let’s Make a Sci-Fi
This unique and creative eight-part podcast follows comedians Ryan Beil, Maddy Kelly, and Mark Chavez on their journey to create their own sci-fi pilot script, from brainstorming, networking and even a professional script read. The podcast logo instantly gives listeners an idea of the comedic yet earnest approach to the show. It cleverly evokes ‘60s and ‘70s sci-fi details, including the three hosts illustrated as alien-humanoid-astronauts looking onto the horizon. The blue and yellow color combination complements the retro-futuristic font giving off a geeky, fun, cool depiction of the world explored throughout this podcast.
03. Philosophy Bites
As the title suggests, hosts Nigel Warburton and David Edmonds interview different philosophers about different topics. Their doodled logo cleverly invokes the rabbit-duck illusion, a famous debate that gets people thinking and talking. Contrasted against a serene, peaceful blue, this cover art effectively tells a story of nuance to their intended audience.
04. Crime Show
Once reserved as an off-kilter interest, true crime has evolved into a mainstream obsession. From Law and Order fandom to a devoted Netflix category, merchandise and of course, podcasts, true crime’s “part-escapism, part morbid curiosity” has captivated many. Crime Show’s logo shows two bold pink footprints on a muddy brown background, carrying the show’s theme: There are people in the center of these crimes.
05. Travel That Matters
Hosted by Wix User CurtCo, Travel That Matters’ podcast logo is a sunny yellow backdrop and cut paper-style images of modes of transportation (i.e. elephants, private jets, yachts) and iconic destinations (i.e. Taj Mahal and the Pyramids). It’s decadent and dreamy, with a muted palette of warm and inviting colors, begging the viewer (or listener) to escape their current situation and live vicariously through host Bruce Wallin’s luxury travel content.
06. You Must Remember This
Karina Longworth writes, narrates, records and edits each episode about “navigating through conflicting reports, mythology, and institutionalized spin, [trying] to sort out what really happened behind the films, stars and scandals of the 20th century.” As Longworth explains in an interview with The New Yorker, “Complicating the narrative without killing the vibe can be tricky,” but her logo shows that she’s an expert in balancing aesthetics with her methodical point of view. Using a black and white palette, vintage font, and the aesthetic of a satin sheet, the logo draws you in with its equally seductive and haunted illusion of an old Hollywood film end card.
07. Other People’s Problems
Other People’s Problems is a raw, uninhibited look into real people and real problems. This logo effectively visualizes the podcast’s thesis about mental health: Even though it seems that we are facing different directions, we all struggle with the same underlying issues. The red color palette conveys stressful, difficult emotions, while the blue provides a calming background. The alternating speech bubble motif indicates a dialogue, signaling that the only way to solve it is to talk about it.
08. Trashy Divorces
Hosts Alicia and Stacie get raw, honest, and hilarious on Trashy Divorces, “a good podcast about bad relationships.” Its podcast logo is one of the best out there due to its clever simplicity. As Design Online explains, “Neon has come to represent both communal activity and loneliness; popular culture and subculture; opulence and decadence.” Its neon light motif for both the typography and iconography gives a tawdry, performative vibe, almost reminiscent of reality TV or Las Vegas, further reinforcing the subject matter and podcast’s dark and light aspects.
09. StartUp Podcast
While StartUp’s amazing content really drew people in, its smartly-designed logo shows why people stayed: It really understands what the startup life is all about. Beyond its straight-to-the-point title, its mock-up illustration takes a cue from tech’s “MVP” mentality—to ship a minimally-viable product as soon as possible. This hustle mentality continues with it being nighttime with one light on, toiling away while everyone else has gone to bed. The ladder also points to the idea that movement is possible.
10. Sounds Like a Cult
Hosts Isa Medina and Amanda Montell don’t directly focus on cults: But rather the cult-ish language that forms fanatical behavior over everything from Soul Cycle to essential oils and even Elon Musk. As such, the podcast logo maximizes this nuance by using cult-like imagery: The main motif is an open mouth, symbolizing speech, consumption, or a door to the soul. But it also could represent a loud-mouth charismatic leader preaching to the masses. With bold, bright hues the style is reminiscent of a bygone era, but also feels eerily current.
11. Call Her Daddy
Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper has risen to stardom thanks to her podcast, however, her road to popularity wasn’t always a smooth one. After her infamous split with Barstool Sports and her friend/business partner/cohost, she’s breaking records with over 2 million followers and a $60 million deal with Spotify. Since this is a personality driven show, it’s a smart choice to draw listeners in with a photograph that conveys her bold personality on the cover: Cooper looks at her audience head on, symbolizing that she’s taking charge. The palette of white and pink channels the power of Elle Woods from Legally Blonde.
12. Girl, You’re Hired!
We may be slightly biased on this one, but we think Girl, You’re Hired is one of the best podcast logos due to its simplicity. Hosted by our very own Lena Sernoff, this show empowers other women to lean in and get their dream job using insider tips from a range of industry professionals and experts. Sernoff created this podcast logo using the Wix Logo Maker.
According to Lena, “I used the AI in the logo maker to first guide my creation process and help me design something relevant and meaningful to my podcast and my brand.”
Since her content serves to specifically educate, connect and inspire women in tech, the simple, straightforward artwork shows two arched lines to resemble the symbol for wifi and represent digital connection.
13. Grief Cast
Grief Cast’s absent-mindedly scribbled logo feels like the creation of someone who’s going through some things. The big, weighty colors feel indescribably connected, symbolizing tough to communicate feelings. The outline of the umbrella is unfinished. This logo works because it shows the non-linear progress of grieving to potential listeners—ultimately what this podcast is about.
14. The Marie Forleo Podcast
Another personality-based logo, The Marie Forleo Podcast puts the host’s face front-and-center, cheerily popping out of the yellow background. It gives the listener that the show will be funny, colorful, and ultimately its own thing.
15. Broken Record
Broken Record takes the spot as one of our favorite logos because it’s simple, smart and strong. If a potential listener looks at the logo, they’ll get a pretty good idea of what they’ll find in an episode. It’s not only literally a symbol of a broken record, but the removed piece also looks like a radio signal. The show dives into a musician’s catalog and breaks it down for listeners to take away a slice of knowledge.
16. Life Kit
On first glance, NPR’s Life Kit’s big and bold title hooks any scroller’s attention. But on the second, they convey a subtle promise: This podcast will offer you life-improving lessons, in short, self-contained episodes. The logo actively conveys this with its stacked squares across the grid paper background, creating a sense of structured movement.
Looking for more inspiration for your logo? Check out these best logo makers.
What makes a good podcast logo?
There are currently over two million podcasts worldwide, and that number is on the rise as more small businesses, brands and individuals jump on the bandwagon. Most people see a podcast on a platform store or app before they listen to it. An effective podcast logo piques a prospective listener’s interest as they scroll and makes them want to click through and listen to a trailer or clip of an episode.
Here are a few things you can do to make a good podcast logo, given the common assets all the best logos share:
They know their audience and their competition. Look at podcasts and other media in your field of expertise. What are they doing? Notice how many logos visually communicate the genre to let their audience know why they should care about their podcast. Ask yourself… How can you stand out? Make sure to represent what makes your show unique. For example, Hello from the Magic Tavern, an improvised comedy podcast’s simple yellow and black logo really signals to its audience, a fanbase of those who love fantasy and magic as much as they love comedy, that this show is for them. Whether they know the symbols from The Simpson’s spoof of “The Raven,” or the old-timey typeface that’s similarly used in shows like Netflix’s Disenchantment.
Recognizable at any size. Regardless of how someone listens to your podcast, you need to make sure they can find your thumbnail—fast. According to a Buzzsprout survey, the majority (52.6%) of listeners find new podcasts by searching a podcast directly like Apple Podcasts. While platform stores are just one avenue of finding listeners, podcasts require marketing to reach the right audiences. That same survey found that the second biggest avenue for discovering podcasts is via word of mouth, either from friends or other podcast hosts. Ensure that your podcast logo stands out at any size—whether it’s on your social media or website header, in a search results page on a podcast app, or via a screen on a digital voice assistant or car radio. A good tip: Consult Apple’s handy artwork requirement guide for podcast creators, which will break down the technical aspects, including recommended sizes. You’re Wrong About follows hosts Sarah Marshall and Michael Hobbes as they revisit iconic stories or figures from the past that have been “miscast in the public imagination.” Its vintage-style logo, with bright, bulbous lettering and a black underlying shadow for depth, is eye-catching and stands out not only in the sea of podcast options, but creates an awesome umbrella brand for merchandise like t-shirts and hats and live events.
Set the tone. A good logo visually telegraphs what your podcast is about. You can strategically use logo colors, best fonts for logos and logo psychology to convey the genre and the tone of your content. For example, The Sporkful uses a simple red logo, a color known for its appetite inducing qualities. The iconography of the spork reinforces the name and telegraphs that this podcast dedicated not to the foodies—but to the eaters.
Simple. The best podcast logos use only details or elements that convey a clear identity rather than create clutter or confusion. For example, since it deals with a very difficult subject for many, Wix user Emily Orlando’s podcast Infertile Millennial has an accessible, approachable, and almost playful logo. While imagery is kept to a minimum, the illustration of a pregnancy test signals an all-too-well known symbol to its target audience. Its calming blush color palette and gentle, circle edges help create a soft feeling, creating a safe, honest conversation around the often stigmatized subject of infertility.
Cohesive with your brand identity. A good logo encapsulates your podcast’s overall brand assets, promoter kits and even other shows.
For example, the new podcast I host and produce, Ready for Takeoff shares a lot of the same brand identity as our Now What? podcast to foster brand awareness and loyalty with Wix’s family of podcasts. However, Ready for Takeoff also communicates its own unique offering through a shape outline resembling a computer chip or a slide—a throwback symbol telegraphing sharable, bite-sized information. This perfectly suits the show, which shares super-short lessons for startups in hypergrowth from the team that built Wix into a a global organization serving over 220 million users.
As Spotify, home to some four million podcasts, shares in their tips for Gen Z podcast creators:
“Podcasting is way more than just an audio file. You should be building around the podcast with other great ways for your audience to get involved. That could be Instagram, Reddit, bonus content—whatever it is for you, make sure you’re thinking about the whole brand.”
Why you need a podcast logo
A podcast logo is important for a number of reasons:
It helps your podcast stand out from the crowd. There are millions of podcasts out there, so it's important to have a visually appealing and memorable logo that will help your show stand out in search results and on social media.
It establishes your brand identity. Your podcast logo is one of the first things potential listeners will see, so it's important to make a good first impression. A well-designed logo can help to communicate your brand's identity and values.
It builds trust and credibility. A professional-looking logo can help to convey to potential listeners that your podcast is well-produced and worth their time.
It can be used across all of your marketing materials. Once you have a podcast logo, you can use it on your website, social media pages, email signature and even merchandise. This will help to create a consistent brand experience for your listeners.
Benefits of starting a podcast
Starting a podcast can offer a multitude of benefits, both personal and professional. Here are some of the key advantages of venturing into the world of podcasting:
Share your passion and expertise: Podcasts provide a platform to share your knowledge, insights and passion for a particular topic with a wider audience. You can engage with listeners who share similar interests and contribute to meaningful conversations.
Build a personal brand: Podcasting can help you establish yourself as an expert or thought leader in your field. By consistently producing high-quality content, you can gain recognition, build credibility and attract a loyal following.
Connect with a global audience: Podcasts transcend geographical boundaries, allowing you to reach listeners worldwide. You can connect with people from diverse backgrounds, expanding your network and potential impact.
Promote your business or cause: Podcasts can serve as a powerful marketing tool to promote your business, products or services. You can showcase your expertise, build brand awareness and attract potential customers or supporters.
Engage in storytelling: Podcasts offer a captivating medium for storytelling. You can create compelling narratives, share personal experiences and connect with listeners on an emotional level.
Build a community: Podcasts foster a sense of community among listeners who share common interests. You can engage in discussions, exchange ideas and create a supportive network around your podcast.
Flexibility: Podcasting allows for creative freedom and flexibility. You can choose your format, style and topics, tailoring your content to your interests and audience preferences.
Accessibility: Podcasts are easily accessible and convenient for listeners. They can consume your content on their own time, whether commuting, exercising or relaxing at home.
Relatively low cost: Compared to other media platforms, podcasting has a relatively low barrier to entry. You can start with basic equipment and gradually upgrade as your podcast grows.
Potential for monetization: While many podcasts start as passion projects, there's potential for monetization through sponsorships, advertising or premium content offerings.
Overall, podcasting offers a unique blend of personal fulfillment, professional growth and community engagement. It's an increasingly popular medium for sharing ideas, building influence and connecting with a global audience.