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Rebrand Branding Channel 4

The Channel 4 rebrand is great – but off screen it is leaving me cold

By Ian Haughton, founder and creative director

October 14, 2015 | 5 min read

Channel 4 has always seen itself at the forefront of change. On the edge, pushing boundaries, being an outsider, being different. A creative force.

Its ident captured this from the get go, the blocks exploding then reforming in the classic Lambie Nairn 1982 original. The logo and blocks have never been bettered, or changed. Just repurposed in ever more creative ways.

The last rebrand was 10 years ago, and with it brought in the Channel 4 typeface that became synonymous with the brand. It was the first commissioned typeface for terrestrial television. To me, it perfectly complemented the iconic 4 logo. Square in form, but rounded with those strong block terminals on the 'i' and 'r'. It couldn't have been for anybody else. The brand had a new asset. You didn't need to see the 4 to know who was speaking. Fontsmith nailed it.

So on to the rebrand.

I get the Channel 4 rebrand. I've looked at it a lot. Read about it. Followed the countless people on Twitter that idolise the transformation. It's difficult to find a voice out there that doesn't see this as pure genius. And with a dream team that includes Neville Brody and Jonathan Glazer, how could it not be brilliant? If you don't think it is, then maybe you're just not edgy enough to see.

The aim of the rebrand aims to further deconstruct the brand. To push the boundaries further on what a TV brand should or could be. We no longer need to see the 4 on TV, the blocks are all we need. And the result has been pretty spectacular. It plays with a brand asset in a totally new way and opens the doors to endless possibilities. Literally throws the book at convention and pushes that creative boundary to new limits.

The new typeface does the same. It deconstructs what we think of as well balanced and functional, cuts it up, adds angles where you wouldn't expect, and laughs in the face of harmony. This is all discord. Which is after all, what the Channel 4 brand is all about.

So, all good then. They're on brand, they're pushing boundaries, being creative geniuses, deconstructing, creating discord, being brave. Fantastic.

The thing is though, I don't like it. When it all comes together it leaves me cold. Actually, let's be specific here. The print work leaves me cold. It hit me when I stood opposite a billboard on a train platform earlier this week. The brand didn’t look edgy. It looked like it had lost its way. So I’ve been trying to figure out why that is.

On-screen and off-screen are two distinctly different mediums. And whilst the new on-screen channel idents are beautifully playful and well crafted, the billboards lack any presence at all. There’s no ownable system here, just some elements which are put together clumsily. And if you only have image and type then they need to be pretty strong and distinctive in their use. But they’re not.

The type doesn’t have the strength of conviction of the previous brand type. It’s interesting, but not as ownable. Not just in the way it is designed, but in the way it is used. The type I saw on the platform billboard was too big. It looked really weak at that size and weight. Sitting on the image it has to work really hard, but sort of gives up half way. It looks as if it’s too cool to try too hard. I think it needs something else to work with it and I know what it is.

The playfulness of the TV idents, the blocks, aren’t here at all. That’s what’s missing. It’s obvious when you look at the two mediums together. I’d like to see how the use of the ident blocks translate into print. They’re a powerful brand asset (been around since 1982) and have just been given a new lease of life. But only on TV. They need to be exploited more in print.

Finally, the logo in print is applied with little finesse. What’s going on? No need for a logo on TV, but a big, brash slap it on version for print with a drop shadow. And it looks flat, whereas the TV blocks are jumping around in all their 3D glory. It just doesn’t work. Yet.

I’ve no doubt it will work. This is a strong piece of work. But at the moment the TV work is singing and the print work is still learning the words.

Ian Haughton is founder and creative director of Handsome Brands

Rebrand Branding Channel 4

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