Abstract
The redesign of Children's BBC Television identity
In 2000 Simon Emery was commissioned through the illustration agency 'Heart' by the internationally respected design group 'Lambie Nairn' to develop a new brand identity for Children's BBC Television.
Having seen examples of his work, Lambie Nairn and the BBC commissioned Simon Emery to develop and apply a visual system that they termed 'the graphic glue' a mood / look that would encompass every aspect of the new identity.
The project team comprised of Creative Directors, Production Managers, Animators, Set Designers, Sound Experts and Special Effects Departments.
Simon Emery was commissioned to design 8 full frame ident backgrounds (which were later animated), various end frame designs and the 'On Screen Presentation System' (which fuses the presenter, set, backgrounds, animated information screens and typography together).
The graphic styling of Children's BBC
Although Children's BBC audience ranges from pre-school to 12 year olds, the mood for the overall styling had to be aimed at the 12 year olds and children who aspire to being teenagers and more adult. The BBC requested that the rebranding should: Reward children's thirst for detail, constant changes and unpredictability and provide strong visual imagery with intriguing and impressive graphics which are energetic, fast, exciting, bright, lively and fun.
Simon Emery developed a language of shapes and textures which were distinctive to Children's BBC. The core visual system was dominated by the use of circular multilayered motifs interconnecting on a small to large scale. The graphic style was 2D flat colour and linear in nature, using no soft tonal changes or soft focus imagery. The colour palette is predominantly pantone red 185c plus an indefinite secondary colour range.
The rebranding of Children's BBC enabled the identity to stand apart from its competitors at the time such as CITV, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon.
In 2000 Simon Emery was commissioned through the illustration agency 'Heart' by the internationally respected design group 'Lambie Nairn' to develop a new brand identity for Children's BBC Television.
Having seen examples of his work, Lambie Nairn and the BBC commissioned Simon Emery to develop and apply a visual system that they termed 'the graphic glue' a mood / look that would encompass every aspect of the new identity.
The project team comprised of Creative Directors, Production Managers, Animators, Set Designers, Sound Experts and Special Effects Departments.
Simon Emery was commissioned to design 8 full frame ident backgrounds (which were later animated), various end frame designs and the 'On Screen Presentation System' (which fuses the presenter, set, backgrounds, animated information screens and typography together).
The graphic styling of Children's BBC
Although Children's BBC audience ranges from pre-school to 12 year olds, the mood for the overall styling had to be aimed at the 12 year olds and children who aspire to being teenagers and more adult. The BBC requested that the rebranding should: Reward children's thirst for detail, constant changes and unpredictability and provide strong visual imagery with intriguing and impressive graphics which are energetic, fast, exciting, bright, lively and fun.
Simon Emery developed a language of shapes and textures which were distinctive to Children's BBC. The core visual system was dominated by the use of circular multilayered motifs interconnecting on a small to large scale. The graphic style was 2D flat colour and linear in nature, using no soft tonal changes or soft focus imagery. The colour palette is predominantly pantone red 185c plus an indefinite secondary colour range.
The rebranding of Children's BBC enabled the identity to stand apart from its competitors at the time such as CITV, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publisher | BBC |
| Publication status | Published - 2000 |