Brett Phillips from 3 Deep design tempted Nowality to rattle the cage regarding the recent “refresh” of the ABC’s graphic identity; Australia’s public free to air television broadcaster. So if this piece offends track down Brett as well.

The new year is usually the time for television broadcasters to launch a new season identities or overhaul the brand identity. The last tv brand that hit the Australian with a bang was Channel 7’s brand change on the first day of a new millenia in 2000.

The new ABC brand has been launched with mixed reviews. A brand like the ABC has a lot of history, however over fifty years it has stayed almost the same – probably because it is a public service, rather than a commercial enterprise. The bigger-better-newer factor to attract high ratings and good advertisers isn’t a major factor influencing the development of the ABC’s marketing and brand. 

The digital age has changed the broadcasting in Australia. Media providers have the opportunity to be multichannel broadcasters. As the ABC’s marketing video states – the new digital channel – ABC 2 introduced in 2006, didn’t link in with the existing ABC channel (or Channel 2), and an obvious branding problem transpired.

The new branding scheme launched in February is an attempt to fix the overall brand presentation. The mixed feedback of the new ABC 1 and ABC 2 scheme suggest that the solution is still a work in progress.

The current presentation to have too much going on; what was once a symbol, now has type, a boxed area and symbol too. The discrete on screen branding, or watermark, that has been enjoyed in the past is now a blatant expression. Today it is hard to watch a program on ABC 1 or ABC 2 without being bugged by the watermark in the bottom right corner of the screen – a type, symbol and an area of colour cluster. Blog sites around Australia are rumbling with the same comment.With all due respect to the team that put this scheme together – doesn’t at least one of these elements have to go? – the cluster of type, the symbol and the area of colour? I look at the new ABC scheme and think of my partner as she leaves to go out – routinely she will take a last look in the mirror, remove an something and walk out the door. The design team at the ABC seems to have taken a last look, tried to remove something, but market testing said no, and then launched the new brand campaign.We have taken the liberty of removing either the word ABC or the ABC’s symbol – lissajous curve, to make a point. The symbol and number seem to make sense.

As a design company, we will of course have comments on the tired choice of type – Din (we think) – a type choice that addresses the requirement of the design brief “for a modern, hip, trendy feel”. The current summer ident – bold stripes of red, white and blue creates a Bastille Day crossed with the return of Brit Pop impression, could the designer be french or english one asks?If it is any consolation the recent BBC multichannel brand solution in the UK is heavy handed too. It seems that in 2008 people have become less sophisticated visually and the trend to be blatant over discrete continues. Even though humanity is the most media savvy that it have even been in its 3.6 million year history.

As the clip above clearly demonstrates, the watermark pre change was less of a distraction. Can the management and design team at the ABC give some further thought to this current watermark eye sore – the cliché type choice and summer colour scheme one can live with.

Watch the ABC’s brand launch promo here
1 Sources Wikipedia

The legend of Andy Warhol lives on through this radio documentary narrated by Neil Tennent from 80’s pop group The Pet Shop Boys. It seems that Andy’s roots in commercial art remained throughout his productive life, as he pioneered the notion of making fine art an off the shelf product, among other things.

The Warhol Effect – Saturday 26 January 2008
Musical legends Lou Reed, John Cale, and David Bowie join with actors Joe Dallessandro and Dennis Hopper and writer Tom Wolfe in an all star tribute to the iconic artist Andy Warhol. Warhol produced the debut album by the Velvet Underground and was the subject of Lou Reed and Jon Cale’s song cycle Songs for Drella, which threads through this account of his life and times.<

Listen to the documentary here

Image by MKO visit here

From the Radio National documentary Barbara Blackman said:

“Money; like fire, is a good servant and a very bad master.”

From: A Great Form of Love: Women philanthropists in Australian history
Philanthropy is a word seldom used and little understood in Australia. Its literal meaning is ‘a general love for, or benevolence toward, the whole of humankind’, but nowadays we use the word more often to refer to the giving of money.
Listen to the documentary here…

The Australian free-to-air television station – Channel Nine has witnessed many changes in recent times and the brand has reflected this activity. Nowality believes that the logo was originally designed by Australian graphic designer Brian Sadgrove. Like many projects from Sadgrove’s studio the development of the outcome was in close consultation with the client – in this case media baron – Mr Kerry Packer.

Folk law has it that Mr Packer vowed that the dots and the number nine were always to be presented as one unit. This can be seen in the original brand and the 3d render developed in 1999 by Dean Hastie of now defunct Nova Design Associates. Not long after Mr Packer’s death in late December of 2005, the Nine logo appeared reconfigured sans the dots, launched in late January 2006. The dots made an appearance in a 3d render in May 2007 (as depicted in the ‘Survivor’ promotion spot). Then two years later the dots are back along side the number nine and the appointment of new station boss David Gyngell.

Nowality at times finds itself commenting on pieces of graphic design that exist in the community far from the design commentary and creative halls of fame.

In a pocket of Melbourne’s south eastern suburbs, along a mostly residential road, are two samples of commercial vernacular signing. What is curious about these two samples, is the close proximity of a signing outcome that references hip hop culture, to a sample signing that has just stepped of the late 1970s.

JZ Lee is believe it or not, a plastering and rendering company. The sign is unremarkable in manufacture, yet the contemporary hip hop reference is memorable. This is one of the first samples that we have seen of branding that brings into play hip hop typography into a ordinary and commercial context. There are plenty of youth brands, magazines, band graphics, fashion graphics with hip hop type, but hip hop type for a plaster rendering company?, what the? Could one image a company like Boral or James Hardie with a hip hop inspired brand?

A dry cleaning company called Shield has a look akin with contemporary design cues. What makes this sample of signing stand out is its manufacturing. It represents a time in signmaking where quality and skill was foremost. There are no traces of a vinyl cutter and adhesive lettering to be seen here. Hand sign writing; finely made yet awkwardly stacked light boxes; combined with the overall layout and placement, makes for a truly unique and charming sample of graphic design in the middle of no where.

We have a feeling that Shield may be modernised in the not so distant future. Till then we will write a letter to the owners, urging them to restort rather refresh. In the time in between, one will ride past this work as much as possible. And quite possibly, a future piece of our work may incorporate stacked light boxes, sign writing and bold restrained graphic treatment inspired by its memory.