BBC Radio logos - Bringing Character Back

BBC Radio Logos - Bringing Character Back

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When the latest batch of BBC radio logos were introduced, they were a bit of a mismatch of disappointment and slight intrigue. Compared to their predecessors on the left, they were a bit soulless, a bit corporate, a bit uninspiring. Save for the wonderful bass-clef motif in Radio 3 and the rather clever but predictable quotation mark in the 4, and the now long-gone smile in the 7, they were plain, with emphasis on function rather than form.

For all the inspiration that the Radio 1, 2 and 5 logos gave, you may as well have just typed it out in Gill Sans.

So, what do they lack? Well, we've got the answer already, in the 3, 4 and late 7. Character. Intrigue. That little twist of humour, that knowing glance, that wink. The sort of thinking that made the Q in QI a magnifying glass. The sort of thinking that makes Channel 4's idents the best in the business.

Now obviously, this is radio, so the scope for usage of the logos is quite limited. You're talking print ads mainly, billboards, posters, TV slides and listings pages. So you're going to want something that is both going to stand out and be instantly recognisable, but also be easy to replicate, cheap to print and versatile to be used for all sorts of things from mugs to pens to headed notepaper.

So, here's the first batch. In all the logos, I have used the old "radio" text font used on bbc.co.uk/radio when James Cridland was in charge. I have also (sorry VMPhil) coloured the BBC boxes. However, I think mine are slightly more tasteful than the Olympic trails!



OK, now you've had a chance to take those in, let me walk you through my (insanity) er.. thinking.

Radio 1 - the old cliche, the play logo. Yawn yawn yawn. But, in this era of iPods, iPlayers and iOtherThings, the play button is all. One simple symbol that is defining a generation of music lovers. The colours I believe are THE colours of Radio 1 - red, white and black.

Radio 2 - A regression sure, but a modern twist. I believe the neon logo was the best they ever had. The choice of shape is similar to the play logo, but is also designed to echo a vinyl sleeve / CD case in perspective.

Radio 3 - Again, I couldn't better that clef logo. Superb piece of design. I've enclosed it in a generic curve shape which represents, amongst other things, ears, legato lines on music, the curves of a violin and the shape of an orchestra when viewed from above.

Radio 4 - the numeral 4 is such a strong shape, I decided to use a straight edged, pointy four in Johnston. The triangle shape represents the three main thrusts of Radio 4's content - news/current affairs, comedy, drama/literature. I always liked the old teal and blue logo for Radio 4, so decided to resurrect the colour scheme for my logo.

Radio Five Live -- This is where the word is better used than the numeral, to fit in with the IVE rhyme. A dynamic, forward moving logo which echos other sports logos (see my NSN mock) - also the two parts to the chevron represent the two thrusts of the station - News and Sport.

Radio Sports Extra - Not really a lot you can do with such a long, stupid name.

BBC Radio 6 - an evolution of their current design, only using lines rather than grooves. The shape of the 6 and the centre colour echo a record player's stylus arm and 7" record label.

BBC Radio 4 Extra - a bit of a bodge, but one that does the job.

To show how they would work in monochrome, here's White on Black:


So there we have it. It's a work in progress (no 1Xtra, no Asian Network, no regions/nations yet) so as always, I welcome feedback/opinions.

Oh - one last thing. The whole idea for the numbers in circles was so they could work on their own without the BBC Radio text. Do these symbols work on their own? You tell me.

BBC logo in different colours is just horrible.

I prefer the current logos a huge amount compared to yours, the current ones at least look better together. However I do miss the neon '2'.

Overall, really poor. Sorry.

I'm afraid I have to agree. I slowly read your post without looking at the mock and it sounded really promising but the outcome just isn't very good. BBC logos that aren't black or white are a no-no (even though the BBC painfully do it nowadays, particularly with those awful Olympics adverts). Your logos look much better in the white on black so perhaps keep them monochrome. The radio font works quite well actually, but the numbers don't really, particularly five live.

I liked some of the older radio logos, such as the 3 and the 2, but other than that I don't really miss them.
I agree that many of the current batch are a little uninspiring, such as the 1, 2, 5 live and 6, but was what came before really much more inspiring? A slanty 6? Five Live in text? A 1 on a circle? Not really... Although I do think in the current logos the BBC Radio should be stripped or at least have the BBC Radio the same height next to the number.

Perhaps your mock should focus more on keeping the circle idea so they all look neat together but making 1, 2, 5 live and 6 a little more inspiring.

On a side note with regards to radio, it's the local radio stations which I think are a mess (or at least those in the North West). For some reason, they seem to have taken on BBC News branding with regards to a grey logo and bold typeface, which looks awful. They've also dropped the 'Radio', so now the logo reads BBC MERSEYSIDE but is referred to as 'BBC Radio Merseyside'. What was wrong with the old, Lambie-Nairn, simple Gill Sans logo?

Your wishes are my command. Circles it is then.

Full colour:

Refined ideas: Radio 1 now has a stronger numeral 1, Radio 6's background is an actual vinyl record, not a graphic simulation of grooves/lines, and Five Live is still worded, but with colour and grade separation.

I've also included two prototype ideas for nations / regions - one showing a map of the country (Radio Wales with Welsh colours) and one showing a flag (Scotland, obviously!). Not sure how this would translate to the regions, but that's for another night.

Grayscale/Monochrome:


Pure BW:

The Logo itself is not necessarily the right vehicle to display or demonstrate the character of the brand. Its pure purpose is to identify a product/service. And the character of the brand could be demonstrated by the imagery that the logo accompanies.

I don't see how a rhombus is a modern twist?

The only one I quite like is the 4 shape you did originally, but even then I think that colour isn't right and makes me think itv4.

I'd have to reject your premise that the current generation of logos are particularly without character compared to those which came before it. Of those, only 2, 3, and 7 were ever really 'saying' anything, and Radio 2 in particular bore no real relation to the station.

Onto your actual logos though, and none of them do anything for me. I'm not a fan of washing the BBC logos in colour - not as a rule, these colour just don't do it justice. The Five Live font is horrid, if the 2's shape is meant to be in perspective, why not the graphic? (although 'record sleeve in perspective', along with mirroring the three pillars of Radio 4's output, feel like retroactive justification for 'here's another shape'). I'd say your 6 Music logo is the closest to being evocative of something , but I don't think the tone is right - to me it just says 'old', not eclectic.

For your second set, the colours are too bold, I doubt the region maps will render very decipherably at some sizes, and the nations emblem is too on the nose.

I'd say off the bat that colouring the BBC logo is a no-no, so it was nice to see you reverted to black. But your additional Nations ideas encounter new problems: geographical representation for Wales looks cumbersome within this type of logo that a simple 'Wales' in text would be better, and the Scotland logo does not work in black & white - without the identifying colours, it becomes 'BBC Radio X'....

I personally feel the 'Radio' text not only looks better in the existing Gill Sans but supports the brand overall. 'BBC Radio' branches off into the various services and if nothing else, at topmost level I feel it makes sense to retain the corporate typeface.

Your preceding text seemed to indicate you had good and clear ideas, yet what you've created appears to be at odds with what you'd set out to achieve. With the old Radio 2 logo featured, the logical step would have been to create other logos where the numeral has a similar level of individuality and detail, instead of the more present-day plain 2D style.

Framing the logos in all sorts of shapes makes the set look quite disjointed, so it was worth amending as you have done. The choice of type for Five Live looks quite dated in both sets (albeit now tidier than it was) and is probably the logo most needing improvement. I don't think any of these new designed logos are an improvement over the existing ones, I'm afraid.

My main issue is that, as long as the neon Radio 2 logo is there, it won't work in the set unless it complements the other designs. You could keep the old R2 logo and completely re-design the others to have a similar sense of depth and style but it would really need to be well done; or try much the same but tweak / redraw a version of the old R2 logo if it allows it to fit better.

The alternative is to ditch the old R2 logo and replace it with something to fit alongside the other logos you have, but that may just result in a set similar what is used now without any extra positives. But I do feel it's one way or the other.

I think Mr. Lambie-Nairn would be very cross.

Nope, he's been paid his money now!

I would suggest using the current BBC Scotland graphical representation of Scotland in their logo.

yes the stronger and more impacting logo made for the nation on local radio, instead of a weak St. Andrew's Cross design? Why not a dragon for Wales, why a map of the country?!