BS
Hi everybody!
It has now been over two months since I took it upon myself to reinvent the image of the BBC in time for its incoming 100th anniversary in 2022. Of course, I took on the immense challenge of creating an entirely new logo that fits with today's times, and though the tweaks have been immense, the hardships in perfecting it have been very hectic, and there being three different incarnations of the concept - a square - I have never given up on hope that the BBC one day decides to reinvent their image to bring its branding in line and reflect its presence in today's era.
So after trying out different ideas over the course of the past month, I've ended up with a second concept - one that finds me revisiting the iconic blocks, which I tried and mostly failed to steer away from the last time I did so. So without further ado, I'd like to begin with the star of the show: the corporation's main logo.
This of course, is a more modern take on the iconic blocks that define the BBC's identity, which gives it a more "warm and friendly" tone. This was suggested by a user named Brioalex, and won the support of many forum users. After multiple tweaks, and lessons on how to get glows right (along with the color palettes that were necessary going forward), I managed to incorporate my take on the whole thing and get it just right, and make sure it was faithful to Brioalex's suggestion. Below is a combination of the colors of the 1988-1997 logo (recoloured slightly to measure), the blocks of the 1997 logo (now rounded and white rather than black), and of course, BBC Reith.
During this time, I also had three other ideas in waiting, another blocks concept with the words in the three colors, and a wordmark-style logo with colored letters in Reith XBold. Ultimately, I ended up choosing the glowing boxes. I know it ain't my best, but I'm proud of it and y'know, trial-and-error.
Right, exposition-related talk aside, Let's move on to the brands! In this case, I've decided to think "outside the box". By that, most of the brands now follow the same "stacked" style of many BBC logos like BBC Two (2007-), but instead of having it all boxed up, I instead used commissioned a print version of the new blocks logo (which admittedly looks borderline similar to its predecessor) to match an in-line design language for the whole BBC. Here are the primary four TV channels under the new fold, each characterized in their own way:
The Scottish channels aren't left out either. I've also included BBC America, which I didn't cover in my original design.
Now. news and sports. Here, the logos come in two variations. The main logos are stacked, while on certain displays (eg. lower thirds), the logo is horizontal.
The kids' brands are unified in a rather clever way. Both CBBC and CBeebies have a "circle" motif. In CBBC's case, I decided that, seeing as (at the time of its conception) the "dated" six-piece wordmark was a bit strong, I decided to recycle it here. CBeebies was one of the stronger aspects of my previous mock, so I've decided to build upon it.
Even the online stuff gets a good ol' facelift! In the case of iPlayer and sounds, I've incorporated the symbols as the first letters. That way, it works better on stuff like app icons.
The regions also count. Note to self, I tried to replicate the individual colors of the main logo into separate form, with very middling results. Either way, the final result was strong enough.
Next up, radio. This was one polarizing aspect of its predecessor, as it had been formatted in (mostly) grotesque - mainly squared ways. To avert those flaws, I went back to the common design across BBC Radio right now - but with a few adjustments. The circles are now outlined, and Reith has been incorporated into certain brands (eg BBC Radio 5 Live).
The nation-specific radio and World Service aren't left out either. (notice the English Regions radio example, BTW?)
Before I move onto my next segment, speaking of icons, in something I've never really done before, here's a look at how the new designs could look on iOS. (posted as a spoiler)
And that's all the branding mallarkey outta the way, let's move onto the on-screen stuff! In this case, I've tried to dodge the shadowy 3D effects of the previous mock, instead opting for 2D graphics and keeping the channel's designs consistent as possible, which has pretty much so far paid off. I'm gonna start off slow, starting with BBC One's endboard - which carries a "circle" motif, with the remaining channels to follow in due course. On the left is the transition animation, and on the right is the final endboard.
Here's a revamped ECP, which carries on the "transitional" motif, but goes rather left than upwards.
Ident-wise, I'm carrying on from the themes of the second ident proposals, as they were very much well-received. To start off, BBC Two, which continues the Curve motif since 2018 (the logo appears 5 seconds into the ident).
Lastly in terms of early on-screen pres, Here's a cross-channel menu.
Which reminds me: Here's a notable example of the corporate logo being used for other purposes: That being for BBC Studios. Again, I intend for this to be animated. Here's an example endcap for in-house productions:
And that about wraps everything up for now! To conclude, I know that this is in a way a step back from the previous one in the way that it once took a bold step in discarding the blocks, but of course, I'm still bent on identifying any flaws that dogged the Square rebrand and erasing or revamping them entirely. As it stands, these designs appear to suggest that I'm in the right direction. I'm always looking forward to hearing your feedback, so as always, opinions are welcome!
It has now been over two months since I took it upon myself to reinvent the image of the BBC in time for its incoming 100th anniversary in 2022. Of course, I took on the immense challenge of creating an entirely new logo that fits with today's times, and though the tweaks have been immense, the hardships in perfecting it have been very hectic, and there being three different incarnations of the concept - a square - I have never given up on hope that the BBC one day decides to reinvent their image to bring its branding in line and reflect its presence in today's era.
So after trying out different ideas over the course of the past month, I've ended up with a second concept - one that finds me revisiting the iconic blocks, which I tried and mostly failed to steer away from the last time I did so. So without further ado, I'd like to begin with the star of the show: the corporation's main logo.
This of course, is a more modern take on the iconic blocks that define the BBC's identity, which gives it a more "warm and friendly" tone. This was suggested by a user named Brioalex, and won the support of many forum users. After multiple tweaks, and lessons on how to get glows right (along with the color palettes that were necessary going forward), I managed to incorporate my take on the whole thing and get it just right, and make sure it was faithful to Brioalex's suggestion. Below is a combination of the colors of the 1988-1997 logo (recoloured slightly to measure), the blocks of the 1997 logo (now rounded and white rather than black), and of course, BBC Reith.
During this time, I also had three other ideas in waiting, another blocks concept with the words in the three colors, and a wordmark-style logo with colored letters in Reith XBold. Ultimately, I ended up choosing the glowing boxes. I know it ain't my best, but I'm proud of it and y'know, trial-and-error.
Right, exposition-related talk aside, Let's move on to the brands! In this case, I've decided to think "outside the box". By that, most of the brands now follow the same "stacked" style of many BBC logos like BBC Two (2007-), but instead of having it all boxed up, I instead used commissioned a print version of the new blocks logo (which admittedly looks borderline similar to its predecessor) to match an in-line design language for the whole BBC. Here are the primary four TV channels under the new fold, each characterized in their own way:
The Scottish channels aren't left out either. I've also included BBC America, which I didn't cover in my original design.
Now. news and sports. Here, the logos come in two variations. The main logos are stacked, while on certain displays (eg. lower thirds), the logo is horizontal.
The kids' brands are unified in a rather clever way. Both CBBC and CBeebies have a "circle" motif. In CBBC's case, I decided that, seeing as (at the time of its conception) the "dated" six-piece wordmark was a bit strong, I decided to recycle it here. CBeebies was one of the stronger aspects of my previous mock, so I've decided to build upon it.
Even the online stuff gets a good ol' facelift! In the case of iPlayer and sounds, I've incorporated the symbols as the first letters. That way, it works better on stuff like app icons.
The regions also count. Note to self, I tried to replicate the individual colors of the main logo into separate form, with very middling results. Either way, the final result was strong enough.
Next up, radio. This was one polarizing aspect of its predecessor, as it had been formatted in (mostly) grotesque - mainly squared ways. To avert those flaws, I went back to the common design across BBC Radio right now - but with a few adjustments. The circles are now outlined, and Reith has been incorporated into certain brands (eg BBC Radio 5 Live).
The nation-specific radio and World Service aren't left out either. (notice the English Regions radio example, BTW?)
Before I move onto my next segment, speaking of icons, in something I've never really done before, here's a look at how the new designs could look on iOS. (posted as a spoiler)
And that's all the branding mallarkey outta the way, let's move onto the on-screen stuff! In this case, I've tried to dodge the shadowy 3D effects of the previous mock, instead opting for 2D graphics and keeping the channel's designs consistent as possible, which has pretty much so far paid off. I'm gonna start off slow, starting with BBC One's endboard - which carries a "circle" motif, with the remaining channels to follow in due course. On the left is the transition animation, and on the right is the final endboard.
Here's a revamped ECP, which carries on the "transitional" motif, but goes rather left than upwards.
Ident-wise, I'm carrying on from the themes of the second ident proposals, as they were very much well-received. To start off, BBC Two, which continues the Curve motif since 2018 (the logo appears 5 seconds into the ident).
Lastly in terms of early on-screen pres, Here's a cross-channel menu.
Which reminds me: Here's a notable example of the corporate logo being used for other purposes: That being for BBC Studios. Again, I intend for this to be animated. Here's an example endcap for in-house productions:
And that about wraps everything up for now! To conclude, I know that this is in a way a step back from the previous one in the way that it once took a bold step in discarding the blocks, but of course, I'm still bent on identifying any flaws that dogged the Square rebrand and erasing or revamping them entirely. As it stands, these designs appear to suggest that I'm in the right direction. I'm always looking forward to hearing your feedback, so as always, opinions are welcome!
Last edited by BiggieSMLZ on 24 August 2020 4:57pm
I'll try and act on any improvements BTW. Which reminds me: I've experimented with the glow effect a little bit further, and I've managed to make the glow a bit more accurate, as I've just assessed some slightly dark coloring in it.
