Identity: What makes a good logo? by Martin Price

Identity: What makes a good logo?

By Martin Price An exploration into the logo design of British broadcasting companies.

In this essay I will be looking at the practice of logo design within media broadcasters in the UK, in particular the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. I aim to explore the historical progress of their logos, the influence of the designs, whilst

“An identity has to support the public perception of the channel”

comparing the logos and attempting to

has to link between the programmes

establish ‘good’ logo design practices.

and support the public perception of the channel’ (Lambie-Narn, 1997).

BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are UK public

The BBC logo has gone through many

service broadcasters part funded by

developments since its conception in

the TV license fee. The first of these

1922. The original logo “Bat’s Wings”

organisations, the BBC, started operating

(see Appendix A), created by Abram

during 1922, ITV then started operating

Games, conceptualises broadcasting

in 1955 and Channel 4 in 1982. These

with curves and lines as a basis. Perhaps

dates are important to note as the

one of the main reasons that the BBC

influences of design and levels of

is such a well-designed logo is because

technology were very different between

the broadcaster has been operating for

when the corporations were founded.

so long that it is instantly recognisable across the world. Throughout the various

All three broadcasters currently have

developments to the logo of the BBC,

very different logos. The BBC uses a very

the focus on the letters has intensified.

corporate, black and white logo which is

The “BBC blocks” have been in use since

self-contained. ITV use a cursive, relaxed,

1988 having been modernised with

logotype with many different colours that

technology most recently in 1997 to

adapt to their background. Channel 4 use

upgrade the typography.

a corporate logo that uses positive and

negative space to create their number

ITVs logo has been through four major

4. All logos represent the broadcasters

redesigns as well as a plethora of

tone and to an extent their remits.

developments (see Appendix B). The first

Lambie-Nairn remarks that ‘an identity

of the incarnations defies the standard of

BBC New Broadcasting House ÂŠ Peter Sumpter 2012

consistency that the BBC have created.

2012 rebranded to include a more up

ITV utilises the ability to use broadcast

to date with trends design – the first

by TV regions and so built this feature

rebrand since the channels generation

into their logo so that regional TV

in 2005. The new identity was intended

franchised studios could personalise the

to add ‘more flexibility and a lot more

V letter. This is another important point

warmth and tactility’1 says Chris Wood,

to consider when making a logo for a

4Creative’s head of on-air promotions

broadcaster that is regional - it should

for More4. 4Music’s logo caters towards

conventionally be relatable whether

its young female audience with the

that be with text to indicate their region

use of pink and smooth edges. Film4

or a separate version of the logo for

takes a more corporate vision to fit in

each region. This is not so important,

with major film studios and production

however, if all output is national. This

companies such as Warner Brothers.

isn’t as relevant today, only two channels

Despite Channel 4’s vast portfolio of

use regional studios: BBC and ITV.

channels, they all maintain the message

The main logos aren’t changed when

that the channel belongs to Channel

differentiating the location, however

4. The corporation have created a set

there is generally a title detailing the

of solid brands that are coherent and

region that is standardised in type and

recognisable even after rebrands.

position. The most recent incarnation of the

Channel 4, being a multi-channel

ITV logo took the industry by surprise.

corporation as well, have many different

Created by Rudd Studio and ITV Creative

forms of its logo (see Appendix C)

with the assistance of font foundry

depending on the channel and its

Fontsmith in 2012. The logo is a cursive

purpose; the original identity was

logotype, the colours adapt themselves

created by Martin Lambie-Narn. E4 has

to their surroundings. When on a white

only ever used one logo since its birth

background the logo uses a mix of

in 2001 which is a fun play on positive

slightly contrasting, although it is not

and negative space. More4, Channel

visually displeasing. The typography

4’s more intelligent channel, recently in

and colours work together to ‘bring a

colourful vibrant logo, less serious and a

scheduling, the majority of ITVs output is

lot of fun.’ This new generation of logo

entertainment and lifestyle, attempting

changes the perception of broadcaster

to capture audience from other channels

The typography and colours work together to ‘bring a colourful logo, less serious and a lot of fun’

such as the BBC that is mostly formal. Therefore it reflects the channel values. Transferability is a major part of a good logo for broadcast. The ITV logo transfers amongst its output channel identities (see Appendix D). When there are multiple channels the identities need to be separate enough for the audience

brand identity by challenging the

to be able to tell the difference but

corporate stereotype, first introduced

consistent enough to tell that the output

by the BBC. The ITV rebrand acts as a

is from the same broadcaster. ITV, ITV2,

hypodermic needle for the future - a

ITV3, ITV4 and CITV both feature the

radical rebrand has paved the way for

ITV cursive logotype with alterations to

more broadcasters to think outside of the

clearly differentiate the channel. The

box.

same applies to Channel 4 and BBC, with Channel 4 all channel identities are in the

But the new ITV logo too informal for

shape of the number 4 with a variance in

a mainstream TV channel? The prior

colours and style; the BBC always have

logo was very formal like the BBC logo,

the ‘block’ logo on all channel identities

but recently the style of programming

as well as any sub-brands for easy

changed. The only formal information

identification.

broadcast by the channel is the news bulletins which happen at four points

A good logo doesn’t just have to transfer

a day – even the layout of the studio

between channels. Often broadcasters

for these channels are more relaxed

try to increase revenue and audience

than conventional news studios.

ratings by creating media synergies thus

Once the news is withdrawn from the

expanding products onto alternative

media platforms such as websites or

‘Timelessness’ is also a key point

DVDs. Designers must therefore consider

that Logobird make. The BBC logo

how logos might look off-screen - on

demonstrates this as hasn’t had a lot

print or web. Versatility is something

of major changes, just developments

that London-based design studio

along with the advances in technology

Logobird remarks upon on their blog

as well as keeping the logo the best

defining the key aspects of good logo

quality possible for broadcast. ITVs logo

design.

has been changed so much since the

corporation was founded in the late Logobird also remark upon the need

1980s, however the amount of changes

for simplicity, an aspect reflected by all

that the corporations structure has

BBC, ITV and Channel 4 as well as the

undergone in that period of time could

majority of channels. This is synonymous

start to justify the changes. Channel

with the logo being ‘distinctive’, as

4 has followed the lead of the BBC in

mentioned earlier the BBC logo is

having the core ‘4’ staying the same

recognisable worldwide. Whilst not

across all rebrands but the placement

related to broadcast as such, an example

and surroundings of the 4 change.

of an indistinctive logo is when Kraft foods rebranded in 2009 (see Appendix

After researching the different

E) – ‘the new logo bears an uncanny

corporation logos, as well as looking

resemblance to Yoplait’s, which isn’t even

for the reasoning behind them as well

a Kraft brand’ . The logo was so different

as semiotics, I can conclude that the

that it wasn’t well received by customers

following points make a good logo.

and got confused with other brands –

A good broadcaster logo needs to

Kraft then took the decision to revert

be simple, instantly recognisable,

to the old logo with some development

unique, and transferable and needs

to modernise the type within the logo.

to have a long life. Transferability is

This is an important example as it shows

the most important aspect currently

that sometimes radically different logos

as broadcasting changes to be more

without research and user testing can

interactive and uses mobile devices to

waste a lot of money.

achieve this.

Channel 4 ‘The Big 4’ © Catfunt, 2008

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APPENDIX A svg [Last Accessed 13 Jan 2014]. Fig. 31. More4 (2005 - 2012) (2005). [Logo] At: http://www.tricycle.co.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2011/08/more4_green_ logo_22px-3.jpg [Last Accessed 13 Jan 2014].

Fig 1. BBC Logo (1997-)

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Fig 2. ITV Logo (2013-)

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Fig 3. Channel 4 Logo (2004-)

APPENDIX B

Fig 4. BBC (1932 - 1952)

Fig 6. BBC (1958 - 1963)

Fig 8. BBC (1971 - 1988)

Fig 10. BBC (1997-)

Fig 5. BBC (1953 - 1958)

Fig 7. BBC (1963 - 1971)

Fig 9. BBC (1988 - 1997)

Downton Abbey Behind The Scenes ÂŠ ITV 2011

APPENDIX C

Fig 12. ITV1 (1980 - 1989) Fig 11. ITV1 (1970 - 1980)

Fig 13. ITV1 (1989 - 1998)

Fig 15. ITV1 (2001 - 2002)

Fig 14. ITV1 (1998 - 2001)

Fig 16. ITV1 (2002 - 2004)

Fig 17. ITV1 (2004 - 2006) Fig 18. ITV1 (2006)

Fig 19. ITV1 (2006 - 2010)

Fig 20. ITV1 (2010 - 2013)

Fig 21. ITV1 (2013-)

APPENDIX D

Fig 22. Channel 4 (1982 - 96)

Fig 23. Channel 4 (1996 - 99)

Fig 24. Channel 4 (1999 - 2004)

Fig 25. Channel 4 (2004- )

Fig 26. 4Music (2008 - 2012)

Fig 27. 4Music (2012- )

Fig 28. 4seven (2012- )

Fig 30. E4 (2001- )

Fig 29. Film4 (2006- )

Fig 31. More4 (2005 - 2012)

Fig 32. More4 (2012- )

APPENDIX E

Fig 33. ITV Channel Brands (2013- )

APPENDIX F

Fig 34. Kraft Logo Comparison (2009)

CURRENT

Fig 35. Kraft Logo (2012- )