The reason that the BBC doesn't use the coat of arms is that, aside from being old-fashioned, they are both elitist (something the BBC very consciously trys to avoid) and are terrible identification symbols. I mean, I know that they are supposed to be distinct, but most coat of arms look very much of a muchness. Plus they are graphically awful - complex, cluttered and often using far too many colours (especially true of the BBC coat of arms). Given that coat of arms contradict pretty much every rule of modern branding, I'm not surprised that the BBC's branding consultants have not suggested using it.
Also to add to Hatton Cross's list of examples - the naming of their new corporate typeface after their founder isn't exactly an organisation running from its past.
Given that coat of arms contradict pretty much every rule of modern branding, I'm not surprised that the BBC's branding consultants have not suggested using it.
If that's the case I'm surprised it hasn't been used then, especially on BBC One, judging by what's happening with the awful Oneness presentation concoction on there.
There was a time when we were greeted by the wonderful BBC coat of arms at the start of the news. It did also occasionally appear on other TV shows. But what shows did it feature on and when did it stop actually being used on screen and in print to promote the corporation and why?
It's a lovely piece of artwork and with some modern graphic design touches and some basic recolouring could work well these days.
Well, if i'm honest, Coats of Arms are all a bit Eton when the rest of the world is kind of TV dinners, hun.
It doesn't really align with their current values, it used to be a bit Empire ish.
Well realistically nobody's current values align with what they did in the past. That's "growing up" for you and its how times change. If we all stuck with how we behaved and did things in the past then (amongst other things) we wouldn't have colour TV, internet and we'd still be driving Ford Cortinas.
Forget Ford Cortinas, it'd probably still have abacuses and horse drawn carriages!
It's one of those cyclical things - you can guarantee that eventually in a future rebrand the coat of arms (or elements of it) will be given more emphasis, and someone will collect a massive fee for 'rediscovering' it.
These things go in and out of fashion - at different points in the cycle the emphasis will be on history/continuity/tradition and at others on modernity/innovation/simplicity.
I didn't realise there was another version of the coat of arms with the 'Nation Shall Speak Peace Unto Nation' replaced. Does that coat of arms still live in Broadcasting House?
That article also features a shot of the original BBC One mechanical clock.
It feels like it's from another era. Maybe it could be reworked into a much more simplified form, but the existing design is too complex and comes across as rather colonial.
That said, the 1993 virtual studio was iconic.
A while back I had a go at recreating the 3d glass wall and struggled to make all the various elements visible due to the internal refractions and specular highlights - the original design also suffered from this on screen.
I'd also intended to create the studio but never got round to it, so here's a couple of renders of where I got to (with parts of the birds unfinished):
It feels like it's from another era. Maybe it could be reworked into a much more simplified form, but the existing design is too complex and comes across as rather colonial.
That said, the 1993 virtual studio was iconic.
A while back I had a go at recreating the 3d glass wall and struggled to make all the various elements visible due to the internal refractions and specular highlights - the original design also suffered from this on screen.
I'd also intended to create the studio but never got round to it, so here's a couple of renders of where I got to (with parts of the birds unfinished):
This is outstanding work! Well done, I really love this!
I always thought it made for a nice opening into the news but certainly doesn't work in an era where the current trend in branding is to be as minimalist as possible at present. It's all simple colours, maybe even taking style out of the Company Title ect. The Coat of Arms absolutely doesn't fit that trend, so I don't think we'll see it used any time soon.
