CULTURAL STRATEGY & BUSINESS CONCEPT
PARSONS + SCAD PROJECT (2022-2024)
NPR MONUMENTS
What if culture from different eras could be experienced where it happened - without disrupting the communities that live there today?
is a public, non-profit media network built around a simple but demanding principle: responsibly informing the public by choosing depth over spectacle.
For decades, the company operated primarily as a radio network, becoming masters of audio-based storytelling and content production, from music to journalism. Their 'Tiny Desk' project achieved international fame, but audiences outside the US are mostly oblivious to their other products, not seeing the full picture of their brand as a source for politics, finance, and more.
THE CHALLENGE
Since social media changed how culture is discovered, shared, and trusted, traditional broadcast formats struggle to remain present in the daily lives of online-first, globally connected audiences. These new platforms are fragmented, personality-driven, and optimized for immediacy rather than accuracy, visibility instead of reflection, begging the question: how can an institution built on rigor and credibility remain visible, relevant, and financially sustainable - without diluting the values that made it trustworthy in the first place?
THE IDEA: SOUND MONUMENTS
This project will introduce a new category of cultural adventure: immersive, audio-based experiences that exist online, for free, but can only be accessed in specific locations, since the content of each 'Monument' would be directly connected to the history of its location. This new product allows NPR to leverage its production experience and existing content library while engaging new audiences and enabling them to travel back in time without displacing present-day communities precisely because sound is invisible.
A MONUMENT CAN REFERENCE:
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A Cultural or Musical Movement rooted in a specific neighborhood, city or region: 70s Punk in the East Village, or 90s Grunge in Seattle.
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A Historic Moment tied to a public space: the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, or MLK's speech in Washington, D.C.
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An Artist, Writer, or Musician and their relationship with a place: Tarantino telling stories from the recording of the Hateful Eight, in Colorado, or Taylor Swift reflecting on her upbringing, in Pennsylvania.
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Temporary Cultural Moments such as festivals or rituals: listening to the most iconic Lollapalooza concerts while attending the live event in Chicago.
A MONUMENT CAN SOUND LIKE:
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Archival Recordings of ambient sound layered with contemporary comments and interviews.
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​A Radio Station from the Past, with period-specific slang, songs, and news that transport you to a different time, but in the same place.
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A Curated Playlist with iconic live performances, remixed studio editions, and exclusive original versions of the songs that represent an era.
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An Immersive Audio Guide through a neighborhood, park, market, fair, or event.
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A 3D-Audio Coffee Date, Walk, or Conversation with a historical figure, a big-time movie producer, president of the United States, or your favorite artist.
SOUND AS AN EXPERIENCE
Some NPR Monuments would use spatial (3D) audio to develop realistic soundscapes where recorded sound blends seamlessly with the live environment, creating the perception of a live narrator who's actually by your side, getting some coffee and telling you about their lives, or yelling at some trouble-makers who passed by some 80 years ago.
A 3D audio walk through Central Park which used sound to subconsciously guide your movement through the pace of footsteps while sharing an emotional story and blurring the boundary between what is heard and what is real.
BUSINESS & FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
NPR can generate revenue by operating as a production company, getting paid through partnerships with cities, cultural institutions, or artists who want to develop their own Monuments. They can also collaborate with local businesses, sharing the extra revenue from customers guided there by a Monument or licensing the rights to sell official merchandising.​
To align with NPR's existing non-profit model, all income that's not reinvested to expand production capacity would be distributed across member stations, allowing them to fund new cultural projects of their own. (Redistributing exceeding revenue is already a common practice for NPR, who gave over $1M back to member stations in 2023 alone.)
VISUALIZING THE IDEA
Mockups that help us imagine how NPR Monuments could enter public consciousness, respecting NPR's existing brand identity and creating visual cohesion despite variety in content and locations.
We'll use a clean and modern visual language that highlights NPR's current brand colors - creating awareness and cohesion - while allowing iconic figures to shine through windows of collages or detailed portrait cut-outs.
TAGLINE:
"SOUND-BASED TIME TRAVEL"
INTENDED IMPACT
This project positions NPR as an experiential cultural producer that's trustworthy, global in reach, and capable of translating serious storytelling into immersive, accessible experiences for new generations.
Beyond giving the company more financial freedom to explore their true capabilities, Sound Monuments will use audio to bring history to live all over the United States and the world - becoming an integral part of NPR's mission: creating a more informed public - one challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas, and cultures.