The seeds were sown when a group of seasoned DJ’s, disillusioned with the current offering of house and disco music for their demographic, got their heads together and set out to create a new kind of radio station. Harking back to the days of pirate radio, but with a modern approach befitting of the original ravers now all grown up (kind of). So, on New Year’s Eve 2017, NDC (Northern Dance Collective) Radio was born.

Over the course of the following eight years the platform grew from strength to strength, attracting musical talent and listeners alike from around the world. But, having set everything up themselves, including the visual identity, they arrived at a crossroads; to be positioned for the discerning music lover of a certain vintage, whilst staying true to their roots and not trying to emulate huge, mainstream organisations (we’re looking at you, Defected). Not only that, they had grown from being just a radio station, to adding two events companies operating in the UK, across Europe and the US, with plans for further expansion of the NDC brand in the future.

The heart of the new identity is a strong, iconic symbol. Made from a reduction of N, D and C, inverted inwards to represent people coming together, the way that dance music makes us do. To build a recognisable ‘brand’ it was top of the list to have a symbol, that in time, could stand alone and be unmistakably NDC. Merch is a key revenue stream so it was important that it would work hard on clothing and make people proud to represent it.

As a digital–first identity, the palette is unashamedly vibrant. It exists almost entirely online which meant we could be bold with colour without losing impact across lots of print collateral. The key brand message taps into the idea of spinning records whilst acknowledging their global reach. While the wider visual identity takes cues from both vinyl and digital dj’ing, utilising shapes and iconography recognisable across house and disco production, with everything designed to ‘beat’ grids.

Keep your ears open, there’s a worldwide revolution coming…