Autumn season rush hits screen design

A swathe of European TV channels are in talks with UK screen design specialists ahead of the autumn programme season.

Irish national commercial television network TV3 is reviewing its screen design account – held by Bruce Dunlop Associates – and is in talks with a selection of screen design specialists, as it moves to develop its screen identity.

The broadcaster is looking to appoint a design consultancy to work on a ‘branding project’, details of which are being kept under wraps.

TV3’s deputy director of programming, Catherine Mackin, confirms the company is currently talking to a number of groups, but says these discussions are at the ‘very early stages’. Three consultancies are understood to be in the running for the project, two Irish and one from the UK, the latter thought to be incumbent group BDA.

Moreover, Swiss broadcaster Schweizer Fernsehen DRS is understood to have hosted an international pitch of design consultancies, including UK groups. The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation-owned company operates three German-language channels under the SF brand.

London multimedia design group Kemistry this week won the contract to rebrand Finland’s leading commercial channel MTV3 (not associated with MTV Networks). Working to a relaunch in the autumn, the consultancy will redesign MTV3’s visual identity, on-screen idents, website interface and news programme graphics.

The pitches come amid a flurry of television branding activity in the run-up to the important autumn to Christmas season, which will also see the launch of ITV’s new look by BBC Broadcast. Redesigns are typically being timed to coincide with the start of this season.

Further design appointments are also anticipated from UK-based broadcasters: ITV is expected to appoint a design group for the design of its ITV 4 channel brand and Channel 4’s in-house team 4Creative is likely to collaborate with screen designers for the launch of More 4 (DW 12 May).