Channel 4’s Rebrand Dismantles Its Iconic “4” emblem

When it was launched in 1982, the iconic animated Channel 4 brand, designed by branding agency Lambie–Nairn, was revolutionary. It was once one of the most first laptop animated logos on British tv and the first example of a network the usage of its on-air identity to ascertain itself as a brand. Having survived more than a few reinterpretations over a decade, the emblem is regarded as an icon of British tradition.

however final year, and the British network channel felt like it wanted a refresh. They despatched out a name for pitches, and movement design studio DBLG nabbed the job with proposal that broke down the long-lasting logo into the 9 blocks that it can be comprised of. Alongside 4Creative, the network’s in-home staff, famed British clothier Neville Brody and acclaimed filmmaker Jonathan Glazer, DBLG launched the brand new gadget closing week, which realizes the deconstructed blocks throughout on-menus, photographs, promotions, and idents.

the most hanging—and controversial—aspect of the new id system is the absence of a static logo. “Structurally the device could be very similar [to the old identity system],” says DBLG’s grant Gilbert. “There’s nonetheless an ident in front of the express. you still have data and promos for the applications. The bodily construction continues to be precisely the identical, it’s just how we characterize it. the most stunning thing is that there isn’t a stamp on the finish. We’re now not sticking a symbol on it.”

To provide you with the unique thought for the brand new appear, Gilbert brought on fellow clothier Steven Qua, who he had labored with at Channel four in the mid-’90s. the use of a three-D printer within the DBLG office, the designers printed out the blocks within the iconic “4” logo and began throwing them to peer how they landed. They ended up using that same technique to deliver the speculation in their shopper pitch. “We printed out the blocks of the logo and threw them the desk and said ‘That’s your emblem.’ We picked them up and threw them backtrack once more and stated ‘That’s your logo,'” says Gilbert of the unique pitch assembly. “It doesn’t matter the place they land, it’s all a part of the logo and the blocks signify that.”

After touchdown the job, Gilbert tapped Neville Brody to design two totally different typefaces for the rebrand: Chadwick, a chic, gothic typeface, and Horseferry, which has ‘lower’ characteristics that mimic the angles and geometry of the brand new mark. Jonathan Glazer got here on to the undertaking to direct four brilliantly peculiar quick movies that run all through the channel’s industrial breaks. without a brand to stamp onto the end of the idents, Glazer integrated the blocks into the narrative of the flicks themselves.

“there’s a formula [for creating motion graphics], and through the years it’s the same thing again and again. you have one thing animated, after which one thing else occurs, after which the logo,” says Gilbert. “We wanted the other of that. That used to be the temporary to ourselves, actually.”