Comedy Central

So, there was almost a cry of despair a few months ago when Comedy Central attempted to rebrand, using the typeface from the US version, only for them to ditch the idents, and give them all to Comedy Central extra. Using the US logo, I've tried to bring CC in-line with, well, the US. I've done a fair bit of research into the branding of the US version, to help my own mock. So far, there are only breakbumpers, and the form up to them. I know this isn't a lot to go on, but I just want to make sure I'm going in the correct direction. I've used the actual US logo and tag in my mock.

Here we go:



This is just a breakbumper. It's simple, with a plain, nice colour in the background. The next set of images is the form up to such a breakbumper.









It starts with coloured bars in the same sort of range on screen, slowly moving, before they sweep to the right, with the Comedy Central logo coming in.

Again, whilst it's not much to start with, I'm looking to see I'm not barking up the wrong tree. Comments welcome!

I actually think, it's too tame.

Sort of like Channel 4 10 years ago.

Safe and bland, so far, the opposite of what to aim for.

Technically, the c) needs to be reduced in size, I'd say no more than double the height of the text. It would look awkwardly cumbersome like that on screen.

Simple can work spectacularly well but this is going to need more thought, planning and inspiration. Check out what they're doing at the moment and try going for an evolution of that.

Hardly screams comedy tbh, looks more like a Carlton ident from the mid 90s, and we all know how popular they were...

Thanks very much for all your comments. I've looked at what you've all said, and taken a closer look at how CC brands itself, and I've made some adjustments, in terms of bolder, brighter colours, although the animation idea has been kept the same. There is also a rough idea for a F.R.I.E.N.D.S breakbumper, for the marathon showings of the programme.





In the bumpers, as you can see, I've shrunk the C) down so it's more in proportion to the text, and used bolder, brighter colours. The form up would look like this (although colours would vary)









Here's that rough F.R.I.E.N.D.S bumper I was talking about. The idea is that you start on a close-up of a green C), only for it to zoom out, and reveal it's replaced one of the coloured circles in the F.R.I.E.N.D.S logo, with the CC text below it.







Looking forward to your views on this revision.

I like the Friends one! Good work!

I'm struggling with this mock... If its a recreation its poorly executed, and if its a new idea... well i guess its beanie hat for dinner.

It appears to me that you have just plonked the logo on some coloured backgrounds... any DanielK or Daybreak can do that... unless i'm missing something.

Below is a current Comedy Central US breakbumper...


Unless there are animations on the way that show your mock... i fail to see the point.

For anyone else who is interested, here is some more Comedy Central US graphics in the same package...

These aren't recreations, this is sort of my attempt at creating the UK version of the US package. Last year, CC very nearly rebranded with new idents, and a new typeface, ditching them, however. I've attempted to sort of expand on the kind of thing used in the US. I can see where you're coming from, though, as I've gone for plain/simplistic styling, so it looks quite plain, and there isn't much to go on.

I wouldn't say this is something TVMocker14 could do easily - surely that's a bit much? For him, it'd be more like:



Along with the accompanying post:

I think SVRS's point is that without animation, it's a pretty fruitless exercise. The whole look really is absolutely reliant on how it would be interpretated on screen.

Personally, I'm not much of a fan of the US style and I think their reluctance to transport it over here speaks volumes. The logo is crying out for another round of tweaks and whilst some of the animations look slick, others look flat and lifeless. And the flipped "Central" is overcompensation for (and an acknowledgement of) the lack of originiality if ever I saw it.

It doesn't do the snarky d*ckhead look anywhere near as well as the UK version. However, it certainly does have the potential to be developed into something far more interesting... if you fancy.

Okay... surely the UK version of the US package would be the same as the US package? ...unless your intentions were to create a NEW brand based on the US version but with different elements...


Yes that's exactly my point... The brand is the quick animation.

...and because the brand is the quick animation, it is extremely difficult to represent the complexities of the brand identity through a series of still images. BUT IT IS POSSIBLE

The best thing to do would be to focus your attention on other parts of the branding such as the "pauses" where the logo appears next to someones head during a freezeframe ...or the Evolutions of the CC logo where its a spinning rollerdex ...or the oddly creative text captioning ...or the bit where its a bit sick.

Be creative with the brand... you can probably do it without the animation if you have the skill.

You've said you're trying to expand on the US version, so we only need to see the elements that will differ.

I do believe that anyone can plonk a logo on a coloured background if they have the programmes, it is one of the easiest things to do, but perhaps it is a bit much to compare this with some of the worst design atrocities in this gallery. You have followed safe areas, and at least you do have a grasp of what looks nice.

Just for some context to my comments... I rated this 2/5. The "Friends" bumper is a start, but I really do want to see you challenge yourself to make the major improvements that are needed.

Thanks all for your comments again. I've been looking at the quirky brand CC has created for itself, which is eccentric at times, etc, and I've been looking at these things when designing promos and other captions. In terms of 'surely the UK version would have the same look as the US version', I'm taking that it wouldn't, as CC in Denmark has the C) brand, yet their presentation is quite different, too.

I'll look with a view to do what you're all suggesting, and show the elements that differ, etc.