Rafael Balbi
Work / Weird Games & Weirder People; case 5 of 5

Weird Games & Weirder People: growing up without losing the DIY spirit

A tabletop RPG podcast needed to look more professional without losing its hand-made charm. Listener research and pen-and-paper sketching led to a logo, a cast of characters, social templates and merch.

Role
Brand designer and illustrator, freelance
Client
Weird Games & Weirder People, hosted by Diogo Nogueira
Method
Listener survey, sketch sessions with the host, vector system
Delivered
Logo, characters, social templates, Patreon cover, merch

Context

The logo the host drew himself worked while the show lived mostly on Spotify, with only two touchpoints. As the podcast grew into social media, Patreon and merch, it needed a system that could stretch without losing its do-it-yourself spirit.

What I did

  1. Research. A Typeform survey asked listeners about shared cultural references, what they liked in the show and where they saw themselves in the host.
  2. Sketching with the host. Pencil, markers and lots of references, then a session with the host to mark each idea thumbs up or down.
  3. Craft, then digital. I kept the work on paper until it had to go digital, then vectorised it in Illustrator and built a system that can scale.

Figures

11 figures from the project.

The original cover, drawn by the host
Fig. 1; The original cover, drawn by the host
Listener survey in Typeform
Fig. 2; Listener survey in Typeform
Sketches from the session with the host
Fig. 3; Sketches from the session with the host
More sketches
Fig. 4; More sketches
Digital exploration
Fig. 5; Digital exploration
Main logo
Fig. 6; Main logo
Logo with setting and characters
Fig. 7; Logo with setting and characters
Patreon cover
Fig. 8; Patreon cover
Social post
Fig. 9; Social post
Social post
Fig. 10; Social post
Merch
Fig. 11; Merch

Results

100+pencil sketches
3characters created
20+positive reviews of the new identity in the first week

A logo, a cast of weird characters that includes the host and his guests, social templates, a Patreon cover and merch, all keeping the show's hand-made voice.

Let's talk.

I'm a Barcelona resident, open to Creative Operations, Brand Systems and Creative Lead roles. I work in English and Portuguese, and I'm learning Spanish.

rafael.balbi@gmail.com
LinkedIn CV (PDF)