The person I have chosen to investigate further is WNYC Radiolab’s Jad Abumrad. Mr, Abumrad has produced and hosted some amazing content that I have enjoyed on many occasions and is some one in my field that I respect very highly. He was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2011. The MacArthur Fellowship is awarded to individuals who show outstanding creativity and ingenuity in their fields.
Mr. Abumrad’s website is a collection of his works musically and in the radio and public speaking genres.
When first entering the site, I was greeted with a title page of sorts with Jad Abumrad’s name in a sort of stipple pattern. This sort of whimsical and casual title page reinforces Mr. Abumrad’s brand as a creative.
The main page consists of a Twitter feed relevant to himself and several different tabs along the top to flick through and discover new things about Mr. Abumrad. For instance, until I went to his page I didn’t know that he produced a hearty portion of the music used to punctuate the stories on Radiolab. When he has time he also produces music for other people and he has some to listen to on that page. I feel this is a very smart thing to do because any one looking for Jad Abumrad in a Google search would just find his radio credentials and perhaps the MacArthur Fellow award. Listing a talent and providing a “sample” of that skill inherently deepens your credibility as a creative. It is easy to get boxed in a pigeonholed into a certain skill set, especially a skill set you’ve won awards for- and this breaks that paradigm for Mr. Abumrad and draws in a greater audience than the RadioLab crowd.
Overall, this site is smartly and creatively put together. It really showcases Jad Abumrad as a creative and an artist.
