The Challenge:
With the need to move the Documentary Channel brand into social media, it became necessary to develop a new logotype that would work as a logo that could operate as a profile icon and as a web application symbol. It was evident that the full name could not work in this context.
The Solution:
I had recently developed a new abbreviated mark which was used on air. This was a badge using the lowercase ‘doc’. I worked through treatments that utilized the three letters, but felt that the readability was questionable, I decided that the square nature of profile symbols might need an even more stripped down treatment. I realized that this might in turn influence the onscreen identity once it was in common currency across social media. The solution was patently obvious once I paired down the letters to the letter d, sometimes what seems obvious is somewhat hidden. Of course, this minimal treatment was common with other media companies and the logic could be argued. As branding is often decided by a committee, having a strong rationale is an important part of the pitch. The ‘d’ is very distinctive and easily understood. It was then a question of finding a way to introduce color and a shape to place the letter. A rounded rectangle worked well with the geometric forms of the d. I provided a whole range of color treatments but felt that the cobalt blue was the most successful.
The Result:
This was the last iteration of the branding that I created for the Documentary Channel. I envisaged that the ‘d’ might become the successor to the DOC. However, the channel was acquired in 2013, and was ultimately replaced by Pivot TV. They adopted the same style of typeface that I had chosen and also use a cobalt blue to highlight the v in their identity….
