Hasta La Ideas

TV channel Yesterday has unveiled its refreshed visual identity courtesy of brand agency DixonBaxi. We asked the agency’s Aporva Baxi to talk us through the work…

“The brief was very much about challenging the perception of how history can feel,” DixonBaxi’s Aporva Baxi told CR. “We were asked to bring it to life through a vivid, immersive experience which puts the viewer at the heart of the story. Plus everything was up for grabs so our approach was to reinvent the attitude and feel of the channel as well as the look. The only element we retained was the channel’s associated green colour, although even this was altered to be more vibrant.”

“The new logo was designed to feel iconic, timeless as if it could have been made by civilisations past,” Baxi continues. “We also wanted it to have a physicality and a sense of scale. By and large I think we’ve succeeded in creating a distinct icon. UKTV were very keen to keep the logo at the centre of the look to help cement the brand in the viewers mind.

“We also developed a fresh, restrained on screen presentation system which is derived from the facets of the logo. These sweep anti clockwise revealing slices of time and content. The typeface is one called Replica and it has great legibility on air while have some beautiful detailing making it quite distinct”

Yesterday’s Y, rather like Channel 4’s sculptural 4 logo, or BBC 2’s number two, is poised to take on new forms and star in an ongoing series of channel idents, the first four of which are shown below:

“Although the logo was originally designed in 3D we had always thought that it should be made physically,” says Baxi. “So we worked with model makers Einstein’s Octopus to develop 4 different Y’s hewn from American oak, distressed copper, aged lacquer and concrete. We really wanted the idents to feel immersive and dramatic with the logo being revealed through the narrative.”

“They are abstracted but have a context to different stories within history – this is further enhanced with the audio which was created to really place the viewer within the action. Each ident reflects a different theme within the channel programming. The live action approach allowed us to create a more cinematic feel that should hopefully feel quite distinct. Alongside the 20 second idents there are 10 second, 3 second and 1 second versions. Additionally we have created assets for on line and mobile use as well as comprehensive on and off air guidelines”

“Overall,” adds Baxi, “we all wanted to transform the feel of the channel completely and deliver on the idea that history can be entertainment.”

dixonbaxi.com

Client UKTV
Concept, design, direction, production DixonBaxi
Audio Massive Music
Ident Post Production Rushes

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