NTL ready to play identity by DEJ

Cable operator NTL is poised to launch Europe’s first major cable video on-demand television service, with the visual identity, animated on-screen idents and user interface all designed by Dunning Eley Jones.

NTL On Demand will roll out region by region, commencing in the coming weeks. It represents the first large-scale on-demand TV service by a cable company outside the US. DEJ was appointed to the project in mid-2004 after a three-way pitch.

Consultancy partner Marcus Jones says a key objective for the visual designs is to reveal the range of content available on the service. This includes films, music, kids’ content and a pick of the week’s best programmes.

‘We want to highlight the different strands and prompt viewers to think about content avenues they may not have thought about,’ says Jones.

The designs build on the existing icon-based scheme used by NTL in print, with graphic executions corresponding to programme segments. ‘We’ve created icons for the on-demand system based around a play symbol. In the kids area this is in bubbles and in music it is an animated speaker,’ says Jones.

Operation of the on-demand electronic programme guide is consistent with the existing NTL TV guide. NTL On Demand additionally offers users playback features, such as pause, fast-forward and rewind of programmes.