Inhailer Radio

Inhailer is a Cincinnati-based radio station with a focus on its local roots. Building the brand scope from essentially the ground up, my roles included creating a new visual identity with guidelines and templates, extending that to merch and promo material, an app prototype as an example for future interface, and some light copyrighting.

Inhailer timed their refresh with the launch of their AM station, 90.9 WGUC HD-3, joining their existing web player and app. After one year without previously loved local station WNKU, Inhailer knew it had some big 33-year-old shoes to fill. This new look was a way to fully establish themselves, and help re-introduce local radio to the community.

Inhailer’s name represents both “hail” as in “to give praise”, and the “breath of fresh airwaves” you get from an inhaler, or in this case catching a new song on the radio. The airwaves ended up as a dominant visual; these along with copy and wordmark itself are all signed with a dot as a nod to our AM radio status. The determination to keep indie radio alive is clear through the energy of Inhailer’s dynamic identity that continues to hold up since the original brand launch in 2020.

Indie 500

Since 2023, Inhailer has treated its listeners to the Indie 500; their annual celebration of the station’s top 500 songs with a multi-day on-air countdown. Each year brought a racing-themed shirt design to the merch store, designed by me starting in 2024. 

This year was one of the most statistically-driven countdowns yet, using data from both the station and favorites curated by the DJs. Because of that we decided to dive deeper than before and take a completely different graphic approach, distrupting our typical brand and leaning into a nostalgic radio station illustration style.

2024