Landor Associates creates new look for UKTV

The UKTV network brand was last shown on screen in 2008, and is to be reintroduced next Tuesday, coinciding with the network’s 21^st birthday. UKTV comprises ten channels, including Dave, Watch, Gold and Yesterday.

Landor was brought in to work on the project in May last year, and initially worked on evolving the brand strategy before working with UKTV marketing director Simon Michaelides and director of network marketing Kerry Yates, who led the creative brief.

Peter Knapp, global creative director and executive creative director, EMEA, Landor Associates, says, ‘UKTV has a very diverse range of content and is very much about being a challenging organisation that sees creativity and imagination as part of their soul.

‘We wanted to express UKTV as something of infinite possibilities, and create something that was more of a challenging way of looking at the broadcast identity. We needed something that explained their restlessness and creativity.’

Landor has created a new turquoise, cloud-like logo and brand assets to be shown on air in cross promotion menus, programme opening and closing credits, co-branded consumer advertising and throughout all business-to-business communications.

The logo uses an undulating movement that Landor says aims to encourage individual viewers to ‘interpret its form according to their own experience.’

‘It’s literally “blue sky thinking” – if one person looks at the sky they see it in one way, but another person will see it slightly differently,’ Knapp says.

‘The identity had to have a disruptive quality – it’s a very ambient containing shape mixed with a very strong, definitive set of logotype UKTV components and characteristics.’

The channel sub brands will be shown as orbiting the main UKTV branding to denote the channel hierarchies.

UKTV says, ‘Imagination and challenging convention is at the heart of UKTV’s business so it was essential that this was reflected in our new identity.

It adds, ‘The heart of UKTV’s ethos is to “Imagine more” which has now become our call to action.’

UKTV is also launching redesigned corporate and media websites, designed by in-house at UKTV by the digital team, according to the network.

They will feature added areas for the company’s International Sales business and corporate social responsibility programme, while the UKTV Press Office website, which also goes live next Tuesday, will feature a new in-house Picture Desk and Preview functionality.