Channel 4 unveils new brand identity

Channel 4 will launch a new on-air look on New Year's Eve, the broadcaster has announced.

The aim of the redesign is to "recapture the boldness and dynamism" of the channel's original logo from 1982 but in "a thoroughly 21st century way."

The new identity retains the structure of the original nine piece stencilled ‘4’, but uses "the very latest special effects techniques" to show the different elements converging to form the logo in a potentially infinite range of contexts.

In its most recent guise, the ‘4’ logo was static, two-dimensional and appeared contained within a coloured box both on and off-air. The new brand identity removes the logo from its box and re-establishes it as a three-dimensional image with the capacity to move, break apart and reform on screen.

"The new identity is a highly innovative piece of work that reflects Channel 4’s unique values and once again puts us at the forefront of contemporary design," said Polly Cochrane, C4's director of network marketing.

"In 1999 we pioneered minimalist cool and others followed. Now, in a more competitive digital environment, it’s time for something big, bold and engaging. Brett and his team have found a way of delivering the impact of the original identity but in a thoroughly modern way."

The new brand identity will roll out across the channel idents (some fifteen new idents have been shot, all featuring the C4 logo suspended in a variety of environments), programme menus ("bold" new graphics and text will accompany announcements of upcoming shows) and break bumpers (one and two-second opticals feature a 3D cut out of the logo on a white field, filled in using a variety of different backgrounds).