Work Shift

While working as a
Freelancer

Journalism outlet going out on its own

Work Shift is a news outlet that started humbly from one man’s weekly newsletter but grew in popularity and prominence in with respect to how education and the workplace play a role in society. They wanted to expand to more than just The Job newsletter. Starting with a new podcast and their own website, all of which would come from one news source, Work Shift. Their three audiences included the education sector with higher ed leaders, the workforce sector with corporate director and HR types, and government policymakers and funders. Work Shift reports on where these three fields intersect when thinking about education and jobs.

Working together, we decided we wanted something that felt current, forward thinking, and independent, to speak to these audiences. I wanted to invoke an idea of a “shift” in the way Americans think when it comes to this space. Two stripes pushed out of alignment to give a different perspective and tilted to the right to imply forward momentum. This subtle “S” was then set with a bold but slightly human sans serif font in a stark black and white container to give that independent journalism impression.

The Newsletter

The Job newsletter is the bread and butter of Work Shift, however the original design didn’t do justice to the influence the newsletter was having. After creating the main Work Shift logo, I immediately set work on how to apply this to The Job.

While we wanted to keep black and white as the core brand colors, we wanted to bring in some color to add a bit of life and warmth to the brand. The Job was a perfect place to start. The graphic here represents how Work Shift is finding the the through-line between two different but potentially parallel spaces. Slightly analytical but crystal clear.

The Podcast

One of the new ventures with the brand launch was a podcast called The Cusp. The cover design invokes the sparking of ideas, the edge of what’s new. Leaning into the heavy black and white of the brand with a striking pop of color, the design reinforces the confidence and directness of the news source. The gradient then becomes an element that can be pulled into the episode specific designs, connecting back to the core design.

The Website

Of course we needed to create a hub of all the articles authored by Work Shift’s journalists. For this, simple is key as the information is dense. We keep with the brand standard of black and white, using black to highlight the featured content. However, pops of color to bring some energy, used to define separate sections of content.

The foundation of a brand

As with all branding project, I needed to provide a path for future growth of the brand. Simple brand guidelines, some examples of execution, and hopes and prayers set the foundation so the little baby I started can thrive on it’s own.