TV is Getting a Rebrand
By Becky Lang
Do you ever watch TV and want to laugh at the graphic spaces in network promos? News anchors are walking around on swiveling purple platforms to nowhere, poking at flying letters before they light up and explode. Glittering footballs are locked into metallic prisons. Spinning, see-through globes shoot down towers made of binary code. What the hell is going on? For a long time, TV graphics have been a parade of pointless special effects. Animators created fictional spaces full of cheesy drop shadows and embossed psychedelic flowers just because they can. In terms of design, it has definitely been an age of excess, and just like product packaging, TV graphics are entering a new age of minimalism.
Today -1/11/11 – Comedy Central debuts its rebrand, and it is a full-on symbol of TV networks’ turn toward minimalism. Many initially criticized the debut of their new logo, a copyright symbol-mimicking set of “c’s” set in austere typography with “central” playfully flipped upside down. But let’s not mourn for over-decorated, 3D logos anymore. With the challenge to say more with less, the designers had to make sure everything had meaning.
The story of how thelab, a New York-based company, rebranded Comedy Central is fascinating.
“In their pitch, thelab created the comedy mark as a branding device. The C is derived from a slide carousel of “packets” viewed from above, not unlike the Kodak Carousel Projector,” writes Motionographer on the subject. While it has been criticized for resembling a copyright symbol (although isn’t that kind of funny, coming from such an irreverent channel?), what people don’t realize is that it is modeled after an old-school projector. Pretty cool. Watch their snazzy promo for the promo here. They’re primarily 2D, replacing depth with an addictive and bright color palette.
Leading the way in primary network minimalism is NBC, whose “more colorful.” campaign debuted last year. You can check out a better video of their rebranding on Capacity’s page. Capacity has also done the rebranding for Cartoon Network, although it has recently been updated by Brand New School.
Cartoon Network’s branding still uses a lot of effects, but their nighttime programming, Adult Swim, has always been a leader in minimalism. Their black backgrounds with white text emphasize clever copywriting and dialogue rather than visual bedazzlement.
What do you think?
Do you like minimalism in your TV promos?
When will the As Seen on TV commercial makers learn?