New looks slide in for SVT's Rapport and Aktuellt

Sweden's national broadcaster, SVT, moved its national news programmes to a new studio recently. With that they introduced completely overhauled graphics and intros. Gothenburg-based Happy F&B is credited for the overall design rules, but much of the implementation was done in-house by SVT Design.

SVT has two national news programmes, with Rapport being the main news bulletin while Aktuellt is a daily in-depth current affairs programme. Rapport was first to move to the new studio, on December 5, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of its first broadcast. Aktuellt followed this week, on January 20.

Rapport had used the previous graphics since 2009 (details here), while Aktuellt was last overhauled in 2012.

The previous look for Rapport and associated programmes was characterised by heavy use of the slab-serif typeface PMN Caecilia and a clear red colour. Aspects of those recognisable elements have been carried over to the new look with a refreshed red colour. A slab serif typeface is still used for logos, although it now appears to be a modified version of the bespoke SVT typeface SVT Publik. Red is reserved for Rapport and local news, while other programmes have their own colours.

Aktuellt has a radical overhaul and a clean break with its previous look, which was already somewhat dated back in 2012. It adopts a logo in line with that of Rapport, but with a black-and-white colour scheme, described as "dynamic and sharp".

The intros for all programmes feature sliding images to an electronic tune, a combination previously adopted by NRK in Norway. The main feature of the new studio is a whirling 65 square metre screen that allows the scenery to change at an instant.

Red Bee creates geometric look for TV5 Finland

TV5 is the flagship entertainment channel of Discovery Networks Finland, launched in 2008 and then going on to become reasonably popular. Last month, on August 1, it launched a completely new logo and graphics package, created by Red Bee Creative.

Up until now, the Finnish TV5 has used the logo and graphics of its Swedish equivalent, Kanal 5, which is owned by the same company. The new logo keeps the successful 5-in-a-circle theme, but gets a new numeral.

The new '5' is composed of a circle and two rectangles, with minimal adjustment. The geometric theme echoes throughout the design, with graphics featuring squares and rectangles.

Delirious rebrand for Canal J

Founded in 1985, Canal J is not only the oldest kids TV channel in France but also one of the older non-terrestrial TV channels overall. On August 23, it introduced new graphics and a refreshed logo, created by motion branding agency Motionfanclub. That agency was also behind the previous logo, introduced in 2015 and covered here at the time.

According to Motionfanclub, the new graphic package builds on "dynamic youth" for kids approaching adolescence. "Sport, digital delirium and complicity is on the programme", according to my French translation.

Roger reframes the world for Discovery Channel

Back in April, Discovery Channel somewhat quietly rolled out a completely new logo after a decade of tweaking the one they introduced in 2008. The new logo and graphics package were developed by broadcast design agency Roger, who recently presented their case study on the Discovery project.

Discovery wanted to keep D-globe concept that had become quite established, but allowed an otherwise redesigned logo. Roger found that the continents in the globe provided enough whitespace to substitute the lack of 'stem' in the new D. For the graphics, they came up with the "D-frame, a rectangle with on curved corner that is used to hold imagery and information.

From 1999: Court TV by Lee Hunt Associates

Founded in 1991 to air non-stop courtroom proceedings, Court TV rose to prominence in the sleazier period of the '90s where numerous trials dominated American news. It would then spend a decade trying to get away from that reputation to feature more documentary-style programming, before finally changing its name to truTV.

One of the first attempt to broaden the network's remit was the 1999 rebrand by Lee Hunt Associates that saw the introduction of the thumbprint logo. The project was headed by creative director Bob English and designer Kylie Matulick.

In addition to the thumbprint logo, the team also created a series of idents based on still photography, with knives, guns and other crime scene objects for the night-time programming and scales and law books for the courtroom proceedings during the day.

From 2006: Discovery Times by Trollbäck + Company

Discovery Times was a joint-venture between Discovery Communications and The New York Times Company. Launched in 2003, it tried to bring the straightforward storytelling of The Times to cable TV. The channel managed to become a platform for high-quality documentaries, but the newspaper didn't feel it made sense for them financially and chose to exit the venture in April 2006.

Also in 2006, the channel launched a fresh new look, created by Trollbäck + Company. The agency went for a very simple typographic look with "stripped-down graphics system", reflecting The Times' "straightforward approach to news storytelling".

Discovery didn't manage to run a high-brow documentary channel on their own, so in 2008 they replaced it with the true crime channel Investigation Discovery, which went on to become one of the company's most lucrative global brands.

Sat.1 Gold launches new look with gold lining

Sat.1 Gold is a TV channel from the major German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1, showing classic TV series for a primarily female audience. On January 17, the channel launched a new look with a refreshed logo, created by the in-house agency ProSiebenSat.1 Creative Solutions in collaboration with Lama Design and Wielandt GmbH. They also introduced a new slogan "Watch with Your Heart" (Mit dem Herzen sehen) reflecting the melodramatic nature of some of the programmes.

We covered the launch of Sat.1 Gold here six years ago. The refreshed logo is a more competently executed version of its predecessor with more pronounced rounded letters. The graphics package expands the range of colours used, but also manages to look luxurious with the gold colour used as a "lining" that doesn't dominate the screen.

Cape Rock creates bold wave for Veronica

Veronica is a relatively old and uniquely Dutch media, originally formed as a pirate radio station, but now taking the form of a TV channel, a commercial radio station and a magazine. These three channels differ in target groups and overall looks, but brand agency Cape Rock recently took a stab at uniting Veronica TV and Radio Veronica under a common platform.

The new look is built to house Veronica's blockbuster entertainment and sports content. It harkens back to the brand's origin as an offshore radio station by using a blue wave animation when display text or the channel logo appears.

Pink and naughty look for Vijf by Cape Rock

Continuing yesterday's article about Cape Rock's work for SBS Belgium we move on the company's second channel, Vijf ("Five"). Here, the changes were more substantial with a new logo a more radical visual shift.

Vijf is a female-leaning channel heavy on reality programming, which it communicates as offering "guilty pleasures". Cape Rock's redesigned Vijf doesn't shy away from fun and naughtiness with a heavy use of hot pink.

Playful look for Vier by Cape Rock

SBS Belgium is one of the two major commercial broadcasters in Flanders, consisting of three channels, Vier, Vijf and Zes (Four, Five and Six). Back in August, both Vier and Vijf launched new looks, created by Cape Rock.

Both Vier and Vijf rebranded back in 2012, launching unconventional looks with "light" logos. In 2017, Vier discarded that look for a more conventional four in a circle. Cape Rock's redesign keeps the 2017 logo, but cuts it up in pieces in a playful manner.

Vier is a general entertainment channel for a broad audience built around strong brands and local productions and the new look aims to give it a clear position through playful energy.

From 2017: Idents for Viasat Nature by WeAreSeventeen

Viasat Nature is a nature TV channel available in several territories, mostly in Europe. Last summer, the channel launched a set of six new channel idents, commissioned from London-based motion studio WeAreSeventeen, with sound design by Echoic.

The old idents, introduced in 2014, featured fairly basic shots of landscapes. The new ones are more conceptual, turning the N in the logo into a portal that brings animals into the TV screen. The animals and their landscapes are created entirely using realistic computer graphics.

DixonBaxi makes Fox Sports NL the true home of Dutch football

Fox Sports in the Netherlands is a sports TV service, controlled by Fox Networks with the Dutch football clubs as minority shareholders, offering full coverage of Dutch football. When it launched in 2013, it used branding and graphics assets designed to work for many sports across international markets. As the channel matured it felt it needed a look that was tailor-made for the football-heavy Dutch version of Fox Sports. In July, it launched a new look created with London-based DixonBaxi.

The new Fox Sports is more clearly positioned as the "Home of Dutch Football". The international Fox Sports logo was cleaned up a freed from its bevels and gradients for a flatter look. The tactical theory of "Total Football" is used as inspiration for a square grid that allows text to move on screen in interesting ways. The custom typeface "Sparta" has designed by Ondrej Jób as a monospace font that fits with the square grid.

From 2017: Maximized look for TV3 Max

TV3 Max is a new Danish TV channel launched last autumn (on October 31, 2017) as an off-shoot from the Danish commercial channel TV3. It replaced the broadcaster's second sports channel, TV3 Sport 2, and sits along side the main TV3 channel, TV3 Plus, TV3 Puls and TV3 Sport.

The graphics package was produced in-house at MTG Creative in London (now renamed NENT Creative Studio London).

Even though it replaced a sports channel, the new channel is still quite sports heavy with a lot of football. It also features plenty of comedy. Overall, the content skews male which is reflected by action-oriented graphics in a rugged grey-orange colour scheme.

Cape Rock redesigns two magazine shows for Deutsche Welle

Dutch design studio Cape Rock has delivered redesigns for magazine programs from German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle. The first is Made, "the business magazine", which launched a new look in mid-May. A few weeks later, on June 2, the science magazine "Tomorrow Today" also introduced a new graphics package.

Even though the redesigns were made by the same company for the same broadcaster, there's nothing to intentionally unite them visually. They do however share the fact that they need to work in the many languages that DW is available in.

Tomorrow Today's graphics are inspired by light, "reflecting a modern conception of science: a force that enables us to develop and renew ourselves, creating a world that is more refined and colorful".

MTV lanches music channel with graphics from WeAreSeventeen

MTV OMG is a new music channel from MTV in the UK, launched on March 1 this year to replace another channel called Viva. It offers "the biggest party tunes, most nostalgic throwbacks, cheesiest guilty pleasures, and the hottest celebrities".

MTV's music channels typically have a heavily templated look with a common logo design. Unusually, this new channel has been allowed a bit more freedom with a differing logo design. The idents are produced by WeAreSeventeen and feature themed objects in a distinctive pink-yellow colour scheme.

Revealing new look for German consumer programme by Cape Rock

Dutch design studio Cape Rock has delivered a few project for Germany's public broadcaster ZDF recently. One of these is for Wiso, the channel's consumer magazine, which launched a new look on May 28.

Wiso has been on the air since 1984. The previous look was somewhat integrated into ZDF's corporate look, where the new one allows the programme to become its own brand, working across different platforms.

Cape Rock's on-screen graphics are heavily influenced by the diagonals in the letter W which are used as a metaphor for revelation and clarification. The triangular whitespace in the W gives inspiration to pointers that can be used when needed.

Cleaner kids TV from Zapp and Zappelin

The Dutch public broadcaster NPO has two brands for its children's TV programmes, NPO Zappelin for those under six and NPO Zapp for those over six. These brands are used for children's programmes when broadcast as slots on NPO3, on their own dedicated channel and on the web. Last month, On June 26, the brands were given a refresh by motion brading agency Terra Lemon.

Terra Lemon were also behind the previous design for these two brands, introduced in 2012 and covered here. Building on the green theme that was reinforced then, the Zapp logo has been cleaned up with a tightened wordmark. It now lives in an energetic world full of sparkling colours. The green is supported by a purple accent colour. The new Zappelin world is filled with round animals and a handmade feel.

Layered look for ZDF-Mittagsmagazin by Cape Rock

Germany has two big national public TV channels, Das Erste/ARD and ZDF. They generally compete and provide different services, which means many duplicated resources and functions. To be more economical, they do however cooperate within several areas. One peculiar example of the latter is the Mittagsmagazin, an hour long current affairs programme broadcast at one o'clock on both channels. The two broadcasters take turn producing the programme on alternating weeks, previously originating them in different cities, with ARD-Mittagsmagazin broadcast from Munich and ZDF-Mittagsmagazin broadcast from Mainz. In order to save money on studios and technical staff, this year the broadcasters agreed to broadcast the two programmes from the same studio in Berlin. ARD made the move in January, while the first edition of ZDF-Mittagsmagazin from Berlin was broadcast on April 3.

The old ZDF-Mittagsmagazin had a look heavily based on ZDF's main news programme ZDF Heute, coming from the same studio and using similar graphics and sounds. The new "ZDF Mima" got a distinct identity, created by Dutch studio Cape Rock.

The central identifying aspect of the new graphics package are cut-through flat areas in four layers that are used for the logo and others graphics and that can be filled with different images. This combines starkly iconic shapes with vivid imagery in a novel way that sets the tone for different segments.

Trollbäck creates cross-platform look for NFL GameDay show

NFL GameDay is the flagship show of the NFL Network, providing more than 15 hours worth of highlights and analysis every Sunday. It recently launched a new look with new graphics by Trollbäck+Company.

The new look is part of a complete review to create a holistic brand experience. The graphics are designed by be flexible and adaptable as the show's content changes rapidly to accommodate new audiences and new ways of viewing. Overall, the look has less of a three-dimensional "TV" style and more of the flat and clean style that works better across platforms. The motion graphics feature colours and logos from the different teams that have been cropped to create bold and interesting juxtapositions.

Laundry creates colourful party planet for MTV's flanker channels

The amount of music videos shown on Music Television (now known only as MTV) has famously declined over the last few decades. In many regions, MTV does however operate a series of so-called "Flanker Channels" that do mostly play music videos under names such as MTV Base, MTV Dance, MTV Classic, MTV Hits, MTV Rocks, MTV Live and MTV Music. The full range of channels is available in the UK, while the offering differs in other countries. The flanker channels were recently given new looks, created by Los Angeles-based animation and design studio Laundry in close collaboration with MTV World Creative Studio.

The brightly coloured graphics tie the flanker channels together through a common visual language that also allows them to affirm their own identities through genre-related imagery. The package was built around the idea of MTV as a "virtual reality planet where each sub-channel is a genre-specific continent – inhabited by party animals" that appear in the animations. The basic channel logos did not change, but were given new and more varied colours.