Soho Radio's rebrand nails the sticker book aesthetic

Soho Radio was established in 2014 and has built a cult following by championing music and subculture without compromise. Over a decade on, it's had a rebrand courtesy of Wonderhood Design (who were among the winners in this year's Brand Impact Awards), and its band sticker-vibe and low-fi feel are already making waves.

Behind the bold new vision is an equally bold ambition – to pull in one million listeners per week. The move also follows Soho Radio's expansion into DAB earlier in the year.

The new identity, the first in the station's history, mirrors Soho Radio's role in music culture, where musicians, producers and tastemakers come together to create a diverse and dynamic listening experience, and where it's not just about hearing the sounds you love, but also about being exposed to new music, too.

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Soho Radio's new look reminds me of Never Mind the Buzzcocks, with its '90s lettering and sticker book aesthetic. It keeps the "soul" of the original wordmark, but brings it into the present, and the future, with a bold, flexible visual system.

Merchandise has a similar fun yet edgy feel, with taglines like 'Ears wide open' and 'Go off track', leaning on the radio's promise to keep radio unpredictable.

How will the assets be used in practice? Wonderhood Design has built a bespoke tech tool that enables producers and DJs to create their own assets. This means they can pick and choose their colour palette, fonts and image treatments, and build an identity that works for them and their show.

Elsewhere, Wonderhood Design has overhauled the design and UX of Soho Radio app, which was previously a single page through which you could play the station. Now, it's an immersive digital experience where users can listen to an archive of shows and get lost in Soho Radio's extensive coverage.

"Because Soho Radio's wide community of DJ’s is a huge part of their DNA, it was important to us that the DJs had room to tailor their artwork to represent them," says Tommy Spitter, design director at Wonderhood Design.

"This was at the heart of all our decisions, working to produce a flexible identity which also embodied the brand’s energy. At its core, a new logo that nods to the original while pushing it forward; a bold symbol of Soho Radio’s distinctive sound and energy."

This new look and feel will enable Soho Radio to serve its listeners even better, as Jon O'Donnell, CEO and founder of Viral Tribe Entertainment, parent company of Soho Radio, explains: “With our DAB launch, fresh new identity, and smarter app, we’re doubling down on serving the ‘rebellious middle’, music lovers raised on record stores and gigs, still craving connection, community, and discovery. We’re building a home for those who’ve outgrown algorithms but still want to explore.”

Overall I think this is a fun and funky approach to radio, which will hopefully help draw in plenty of listeners new and old.

Find out more about this Soho Radio project.