Inside the brand design of Condé Nast Entertainment’s video portal The Scene
A platform for digital shorts, series and documentaries, The Scene is a curated destination for original programming from over 15 of Condé Nast’s brands including Vogue, GQ and Vanity Fair and content from other brands such as Buzzfeed and Red Bull.
To create a ‘stylish’ presence Condé Nast worked with Pentagram, which was tasked with creating an identity that would work with and unify the diverse range of content and brands.
At the same time, The Scene needed an identity that emphasized the “video-ness” of the platform, which is obviously different from the world of print. Pentagram worked on the strategy, messaging and tone for The Scene brand, which aims to emphasise the possibilities of video.
The resulting work focuses around a simple triangle shape which is widely recognised as a cue for pressing ‘play’ on video. The shape has been built into a negative space in The Scene logotype, so that it can also serve as a window for a variety of imagery
Based on Sharp Sans No. 1 by Village, the wordmark is scalable and works at a range of sizes, which is important for a logo that will be used in motion graphics.
Pentagram designer Emily Oberman said her favuorite aspect of the identity is how, when tipped on its side, the triangle can own one corner of the screen in videos posted across multiple platforms, similar to YouTube and AOL.
“The shape perfectly slips into the corner of the videos as a digital on-screen graphic,” she said. “It’s simple and you see it for only a second, but you instantly know it’s part of The Scene.”
To develop the new identity Pentagram worked closely with Dawn Ostroff, president of Conde Nast Entertainment, Fred Santarpia, chief digital officer, and Doug Seidman, vice president of product and design.