A Baseline case study
Benghazi, Libya · 2024–2026
Brand identity, studio, production and digital platforms for Dirham, Libya's podcast on economics and entrepreneurship.
Baseline × Dirham
Ahmed Ben Mussa set out to give Libya a serious conversation about its own economy, and asked Baseline to help him build it.
Dirham is a long-form video podcast on economics and entrepreneurship in Libya. Each episode pairs the host with a single guest for up to two and a half hours: founders, investors and policymakers, on subjects as varied as poultry farming, tuna fishing, internet provision, insurance and cybersecurity.
The challenge was to make a Libyan conversation about money look and sound as credible as the people taking part in it, with few local examples to follow, guests often new to the camera and market data that had to be researched from scratch.
Baseline has worked as the show's full-service partner since the first season. The studio developed the look and the wordmark, built and lit the set, filmed, edited and mixed every episode, turned the economic data into visual stories, designed and developed dirham.ly, and planned each campaign and its publishing schedule.
The work brought together more than 30 people, from Baseline's in-house team and freelance specialists, across production, post-production, design and digital.
Baseline × Dirham
Discover the world of business
from a new perspective.
اكتشف عالم الأعمال من منظور جديد
Baseline × DirhamNine disciplines,
one team
What Baseline deliveredEvery image, sound and page in this case study was planned, made or launched by Baseline.
Baseline × DirhamProduction
Dirham is produced like television: a designed set, two cameras, cinema lighting and a separate sound mix for every episode.
Baseline × DirhamBehind the scenes
ScopeSet build, lighting, camera, sound and direction, in the studio and on location.
Baseline × DirhamA set designed
for conversation
ScopeSet design, furniture and lighting plan. The layout is deliberately simple: two chairs, one table, the Dirham mark on the floor and two cameras that never cross the line.
Cam 1 on the host, Cam 2 on the guest.
Two octaboxes as key, warm lamps in frame for depth.
One dynamic mic per speaker, recorded to separate tracks.
Round rug with the Dirham mark, plants, two facing chairs.
Baseline × DirhamEdit and
colour grade
ScopeEditing and colour grading across three seasons, including every cut-down.
Skin tones are matched across both angles, greens are lifted to echo the brand, and blacks stay deep but readable.
Each voice is recorded on its own microphone, then cleaned, isolated, mixed and mastered. More on the next page.
The full episode in 4K, podcast audio, vertical reels and stories, a thumbnail, cover art and a carousel.
Baseline × DirhamTwo voices,
one clean mix
ScopeSound engineering for every episode. Each voice is recorded on its own microphone, then cleaned, isolated, mixed and mastered for listening platforms.
Mic 1 · Ahmed Ben MussaMic 2 · GuestNoise and room sound are removed while each voice stays natural.
The two microphones are separated so each voice can be shaped on its own.
Tone and level are shaped for headphones, car speakers and phones.
Restoration, EQ and loudness meteringSound engineer:Ahmed Debani
Baseline × DirhamFrom memory card
to every channel
WorkflowOne pipeline for every episode, with a single owner for each step and a review before anything is exported.
Picture and sound are worked on at the same time, then meet in the first draft.
Every draft is checked for sound and picture errors; anything found goes back to its owner.
The final video and the ad-ready audio master go out together, then media buying takes over.
Baseline × DirhamOne family of
on-screen graphics
ScopeMotion graphics for every episode, teaser and reel, built from one set of green-glass cards. All frames shown are from published Dirham videos.
In every reel
In the episodes and teasers
Baseline × DirhamIdentity
A wordmark, a green label and a system built to carry three seasons of covers, thumbnails and posts.
Baseline × DirhamThe wordmark
ScopeLogo design. The show takes its name from the dirham, the historic Arab silver coin, and the wordmark is drawn as a single heavy form, with the weight of a coin in the hand.
Drawn with the calligrapher Salem Mezwghi.
Baseline × DirhamThe sound of Dirham
ScopeSonic identity: an intro theme, a logo sting, a trailer track and a variation written for the China episode.
Opens every episode under the logo reveal.
The short hit that lands with the wordmark.
Scored for the season trailers.
The theme re-arranged for the episode filmed in China.
Baseline × DirhamTwo scripts, one voice
ScopeType and colour system. The Year of the Camel sets the Arabic and Gotham the Latin. Green leads, charcoal and paper carry the text, and mint is reserved for data.
abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789
ع غ ف ق ك ل م ن هـ و ي ١٢٣٤٥٦٧٨٩٠
#2F4A23
Logo, labels
#2D2E2D
Text, dark frames
#F2F2EF
Backgrounds
#7EDDA3
Data, parallel market
Baseline × DirhamMore than thirty covers,
one system
ScopeEpisode artwork for all three seasons, built from a graded portrait, the green title label and the platform row in a fixed layout.
Baseline × DirhamYouTube thumbnails
ScopeA thumbnail for every episode. The cover label is set larger and tighter, and the guest's face does most of the work.
Baseline × DirhamCarousels
and posts
ScopeCarousels, posts and stories for every episode, released according to the campaign and publishing plans Baseline wrote.
Dirham Podcastليبيا... أرض الذهب الأخضرSeason 02 · olive oil episode
Swipe the phone to move through the carousel.
Six slides that turn one episode into a story: the land, the farmers, the export problem, the product, the guest and the release date.
Baseline × DirhamThe brand, in the room
ScopeBrand applications on set and in print.
Baseline × DirhamContent &
digital
Data stories, a website and a distribution plan that put every episode in front of Libyan listeners on the same day.
Baseline × DirhamTurning rumours
into readable numbers
ScopeData visualisation and editorial design. The market behind each episode is researched, charted and published as a carousel and an article.
Baseline × Dirhamdirham.ly
ScopeWebsite design and development, bringing the episodes, the blog and every listening platform together in one place.
Baseline × DirhamTwo and a half hours,
cut into a week of reels
ScopeTeasers and short-form editing: a teaser for each season and vertical reels with burned-in captions.
Press play for sound.
Tap a reel to turn the sound on.
Baseline × DirhamOne recording,
sixteen channels
ScopeSocial media planning and distribution. Baseline planned each campaign and its publishing schedule, cut every episode into five formats and released them on the same day across video, audio, social and the web.
Hover or tap a format to see where it goes, or a channel to see what feeds it.
Five formats. Tap one to see where it goes.
Campaign planning for every season launch, episode and sponsor, with a publishing plan for each.
Episodes on YouTube and nine listening apps, cut-downs on five networks, the episode page on dirham.ly.
Media buying to push each episode and campaign beyond the organic audience.
Baseline × DirhamBest Podcast in Libya,
twice in 2025
RecognitionDirham received both of the country's podcast awards in 2025, in Benghazi and in Tripoli.
Best Podcast in Libya at the award's first edition, Benghazi, 30 April 2025, recognised for the quality of the show and its in-depth, local treatment of economic subjects.
Best Podcast in Libya for 2025, Tripoli, December 2025.
Baseline × DirhamThree seasons,
by the numbers
ResultsThe combined reach of the content Baseline produced, published and promoted across video, social and audio.
Across video, design and photography.
The sum of Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram. Facebook and YouTube as of 28 October 2026.
Counted on
Community
Published
Who watches
Age25 to 44 is the largest age group on every platform.
CitiesTripoli and Benghazi make up more than half of the Libyan audience on Facebook and Instagram.
Beyond LibyaEgypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia lead the markets outside Libya.
Facebook and YouTube updated to 28 October 2026; other platforms from the previous report. Reference periods differ between platforms. Facebook followers count those gained in the reported period, not the current total.
They treated the show like their own, not like a client file to be processed.
I didn't want a production house. I wanted a team that understood what Dirham is trying to do: put real Libyan economics and entrepreneurship in front of people, honestly, without dressing it up.
Baseline got that from day one. From planning to final cut, they treated the show like their own... not like a client file to be processed.
The result looks and sounds like a serious platform, which is exactly what these conversations deserve. When a guest who runs a real business sits down, they feel respected straight away. That's down to Baseline.
If you're building something that needs to be taken seriously, I strongly recommend working with them.
Thank you.Three seasons and more than 30 episodes. Watch and listen at dirham.ly
Dirham started with Ahmed Ben Mussa's belief that Libyans deserve a serious, honest conversation about their own economy. Over three seasons it grew into something that belongs to many people: more than 30 of us, in-house and freelance, who gave it early calls, long shoots and late edits, and who cared about every frame and every voice. We are grateful to Ahmed for trusting us with an idea that meant so much to him, to every guest who sat down and spoke openly about their work, and to everyone in Libya and beyond who watched and listened. Work like this only happens when people believe in it. Thank you for believing in it with us.
×blc.ly