BDA makes light work of ITV idents

ITV has unveiled its overhauled daytime schedule, renamed and redesigned as ITV Day by screen specialist Bruce Dunlop Associates.

The visual identity work forms part of the relaunch of ITV’s entire daytime strand, with a new programme schedule set to commence on 11 April. The changes are being overseen by the broadcaster’s controller of off-peak Steven Andrew.

BDA has created a Sun-themed colour palette of yellow, orange and red, from which the primary marque is drawn. It has also produced a series of 12 screen idents that can be customised by ITV’s regional franchises. The concept for the idents is to render everyday scenes, such as cycling in the park or lunch in a café, through the ITV Day colour scheme. The idents were produced by BDA design manager George Alexander.

‘[The sequences] were all shot on blue-screen. Some of the backgrounds were 2D images, but others used 3D environments that we built especially to sit people in,’ says Alexander. Animations were used to layer additional detail in the scenes.

BDA group managing director Honor Bartlett says the group was briefed to produce an aspirational identity that is slightly biased towards women. Andrew was keen to ensure the designs were inclusive to all social and racial groups, she adds.

BDA was appointed to the project a year ago. It has worked with ITV for a couple of years, creating the on-screen idents for the ITV 1, 2, 3 and News channels.

Bartlett hopes the consultancy will also be selected to brand the forthcoming ITV 4 channel when the brief is issued in April.