MQ
It's been a while since I whipped up some mocks. But having been inspired by the extensive range of high quality designs recently (OK, not really), I've decided to throw my own hat in the ring with some ideas for Daybreak.
I think it's safe to say that Daybreak's graphics refresh has won more brickbats than bouquets. Aside from the rather obvious point that graphics won't fix the programme's content- and personality-related woes, the show's visual identity seems to be lacking in any sort of creativity. And frankly, from the graphics I've seen, the change of colour has not done anything to make Daybreak seem warm. The problem is not whether the colour palette is predominantly purple or yellow/orange - it's that everything just seems so austere. That might be OK for BBC Breakfast, but Daybreak is targeting a different audience. It isn't tied to the ITV News design (particularly since big black blocks do not really suit a morning show), so it can afford to be different.
My first thought when looking at the Daybreak graphics is that they're too simple. The colours are poorly used. I've seen various comments about how white text on a yellow block is basically illegible. I think the bigger issue is the orange text on the transparent white supers - there's insufficient contrast. Moreover, I just don't see anything inviting about them. Sticking to such a rigid colour palette doesn't really suit the programme and what it's striving to be.
So, my two contributions:
1/ Use a broader and more fluid mix of colours . I actually don't think purple needed to be ditched - it simply needed to be complemented by other colours, including yellow/orange (which makes for a nice contrast).
2/ Soften the design of the graphics . Less sharp lines, less fixed blocks. More textures, more 'glow'. And make the graphics a bit easier to read - you're talking about people waking up in the morning and switching on their TV sets. They shouldn't need three cups of coffee to be able to focus their eyes before being able to read what's on their screens.
Of course, whether I've achieved these, I'll leave for you to decide. Your comments and constructive feedback, as always, are welcome.
A final note - and sorry for rambling on - I should note some inspiration here. I have borrowed a little bit from Australia's 'Sunrise' (which in turn has borrowed elements from the NBC 'Today' show in the US). More significantly, the programme logo borrows quite heavily from Australia's '7.30' - which is actually a serious nightly current affairs programme. It wasn't what I started out with, but the more I tweaked the logo, the closer it came to resemble 7.30's logo - I think the arch of the logo quite suits a morning context.
OK. The graphics:
Title
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak2.jpg
The photo is more illustrative than anything. I'm not claiming bold inspiration here - video of the sun rising, people getting ready in the morning, so on and so forth. The main difference is obviously the logo. I like the idea of reaching the final scene, with a flash of warm lighting illuminating the word 'Daybreak' - which would have a glassy effect to it. Then the logo backdrop would kind of wipe on from the bottom right corner across to the top right, and then continuing along the curve at the top. (The idea of it reflecting the sun itself - rising in the east and moving across to the west. There is an orange glow across the logo (starting from the top right and projecting down), and in all versions, this would track across the logo from east to west.
Opening graphics
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak1.jpg
The headline sequence for the programme would include the date and a full strap across the bottom of the screen. The headline strap would wipe in from behind the Daybreak DOG, with the purple bar behind it expanding from the bottom line of the headline strap. The date strap would slide in from the right of the screen, behind the clock. Text would slide from behind the DOG, clock separately. And as each headline appears, the original headline text fades as the next headline slides out.
DOG, flipper
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak3.jpg
I know not everyone likes tickers/'flippers'. I think it works well for breakfast TV - I know I often glance at the ticker in the morning to check the headlines, and use that (partly) to guide what I scan for on news websites in the morning. I prefer flippers, particularly for morning TV - I think for a viewer, it takes less effort to read text that's in a fixed place rather than scrolling. And less effort is what you want first thing in the morning.
Ideally, the flipper (and clock) would be generated in the regions - including local weather and traffic updates. However, I recognise this may prove to be fairly costly in terms of maintaining the content - and indeed, it might not even be technically achievable (at least not without incurring large costs). So this might end up simply drawing headlines from the ITV website, and promoting forthcoming items on the show.
Design wise, the flipper has a glowing line at the top, which moves across the screen from right to left.
Straps
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak4.jpg
A white background is fine, but make it visually interesting. I've included hints of purple and orange, that would sort of flicker across the bottom of the strap. The strap would slide out from behind the DOG, as would the text in the next step of the animation (for names, each line separately). There's also an orange curving glow behind the strap - this would slide up from the bottom of the screen as the main strap slides across.
The super would slide back behind the DOG as the orange glow fades out.
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak5.jpg
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak6.jpg
There's also a 'tab' that can appear above the strap - it expands out from the middle, and the text fades in above it, and slides (slightly) from left to right as it does so. The tab fades out, sliding slightly to the left as it does so.
Live & location
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak7.jpg
This appears in a glassy block at the top left of the screen, and the LIVE text glows. The LIVE 'flashes' on screen inside the block, and the block then expands, with the location name wiping on (with a gradient effect rather than a solid line wipe). It contracts in reverse.
A location name on its own would also appear in a similar design - the block would wipe/expand from left to right, with the location name wiping on similarly.
Contact details
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak8.jpg
Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, website etc. Here's just the Facebook example. The Facebook bar slides out from screen left, as the orange bar expands from behind the DOG. The URL (or twitter username or e-mail address etc.) slides out from behind the DOG.
Coming Up
Two variants for the coming up slides. Throwing to a break or before an opt, this would be a full screen strap.
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak9.jpg
There would also be a 'preview' that could appear on screen in the middle of segments. (It can also appear over the top of the standard supers shown above.) The photo of the guest could be replaced by a relevant logo for a company/organisation/cause or need not be used at all.
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak10.jpg
Animation: white vertical bar flashes on, and the purple/orange straps expand out either side. Text slides out from the vertical bar to the left, and the photo/image to the right.
Breaking News
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak11.jpg
Developing stories do happen in the morning, and it's important to signal these clearly. I've stuck with red for Breaking News - and the strap includes a scrolling 'BREAKING NEWS' line in the background, which slowly moves from right to left.
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak12.jpg
For serious events, there's also an 'ITV News' ticker which appears across the bottom of the screen replacing the flipper. (I think a ticker works better for breaking news as content can be entered more quickly without having to worry about whether it's too long to appear in one line on the screen, or needing to condense the font - which can lead to the text simply being illegible.)
Full screens
Slide
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak13.jpg
The heading block would expand from the middle of the screen, and the heading text would slide up from beneath the darker bar. The white block would wipe down, as each item of text slides out from the left of the box.
Split screen
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak14.jpg
The LIVE block in the middle obviously wouldn't appear for content that isn't live!
OK - final thoughts from me. I appreciate this is somewhat more "American" than "British" in influence. Normally my graphics preferences tend more to the simplicity of European designs - but for breakfast TV, I think it means you sacrifice some warmth. Daybreak doesn't want to convey 'cold' and 'clinical' - this is a show that is trying to be a bit fun in the morning, which I've attempted to capture in these designs.
But over to you...
I think it's safe to say that Daybreak's graphics refresh has won more brickbats than bouquets. Aside from the rather obvious point that graphics won't fix the programme's content- and personality-related woes, the show's visual identity seems to be lacking in any sort of creativity. And frankly, from the graphics I've seen, the change of colour has not done anything to make Daybreak seem warm. The problem is not whether the colour palette is predominantly purple or yellow/orange - it's that everything just seems so austere. That might be OK for BBC Breakfast, but Daybreak is targeting a different audience. It isn't tied to the ITV News design (particularly since big black blocks do not really suit a morning show), so it can afford to be different.
My first thought when looking at the Daybreak graphics is that they're too simple. The colours are poorly used. I've seen various comments about how white text on a yellow block is basically illegible. I think the bigger issue is the orange text on the transparent white supers - there's insufficient contrast. Moreover, I just don't see anything inviting about them. Sticking to such a rigid colour palette doesn't really suit the programme and what it's striving to be.
So, my two contributions:
1/ Use a broader and more fluid mix of colours . I actually don't think purple needed to be ditched - it simply needed to be complemented by other colours, including yellow/orange (which makes for a nice contrast).
2/ Soften the design of the graphics . Less sharp lines, less fixed blocks. More textures, more 'glow'. And make the graphics a bit easier to read - you're talking about people waking up in the morning and switching on their TV sets. They shouldn't need three cups of coffee to be able to focus their eyes before being able to read what's on their screens.
Of course, whether I've achieved these, I'll leave for you to decide. Your comments and constructive feedback, as always, are welcome.
A final note - and sorry for rambling on - I should note some inspiration here. I have borrowed a little bit from Australia's 'Sunrise' (which in turn has borrowed elements from the NBC 'Today' show in the US). More significantly, the programme logo borrows quite heavily from Australia's '7.30' - which is actually a serious nightly current affairs programme. It wasn't what I started out with, but the more I tweaked the logo, the closer it came to resemble 7.30's logo - I think the arch of the logo quite suits a morning context.
OK. The graphics:
Title
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak2.jpg
The photo is more illustrative than anything. I'm not claiming bold inspiration here - video of the sun rising, people getting ready in the morning, so on and so forth. The main difference is obviously the logo. I like the idea of reaching the final scene, with a flash of warm lighting illuminating the word 'Daybreak' - which would have a glassy effect to it. Then the logo backdrop would kind of wipe on from the bottom right corner across to the top right, and then continuing along the curve at the top. (The idea of it reflecting the sun itself - rising in the east and moving across to the west. There is an orange glow across the logo (starting from the top right and projecting down), and in all versions, this would track across the logo from east to west.
Opening graphics
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak1.jpg
The headline sequence for the programme would include the date and a full strap across the bottom of the screen. The headline strap would wipe in from behind the Daybreak DOG, with the purple bar behind it expanding from the bottom line of the headline strap. The date strap would slide in from the right of the screen, behind the clock. Text would slide from behind the DOG, clock separately. And as each headline appears, the original headline text fades as the next headline slides out.
DOG, flipper
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak3.jpg
I know not everyone likes tickers/'flippers'. I think it works well for breakfast TV - I know I often glance at the ticker in the morning to check the headlines, and use that (partly) to guide what I scan for on news websites in the morning. I prefer flippers, particularly for morning TV - I think for a viewer, it takes less effort to read text that's in a fixed place rather than scrolling. And less effort is what you want first thing in the morning.
Ideally, the flipper (and clock) would be generated in the regions - including local weather and traffic updates. However, I recognise this may prove to be fairly costly in terms of maintaining the content - and indeed, it might not even be technically achievable (at least not without incurring large costs). So this might end up simply drawing headlines from the ITV website, and promoting forthcoming items on the show.
Design wise, the flipper has a glowing line at the top, which moves across the screen from right to left.
Straps
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak4.jpg
A white background is fine, but make it visually interesting. I've included hints of purple and orange, that would sort of flicker across the bottom of the strap. The strap would slide out from behind the DOG, as would the text in the next step of the animation (for names, each line separately). There's also an orange curving glow behind the strap - this would slide up from the bottom of the screen as the main strap slides across.
The super would slide back behind the DOG as the orange glow fades out.
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak5.jpg
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak6.jpg
There's also a 'tab' that can appear above the strap - it expands out from the middle, and the text fades in above it, and slides (slightly) from left to right as it does so. The tab fades out, sliding slightly to the left as it does so.
Live & location
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak7.jpg
This appears in a glassy block at the top left of the screen, and the LIVE text glows. The LIVE 'flashes' on screen inside the block, and the block then expands, with the location name wiping on (with a gradient effect rather than a solid line wipe). It contracts in reverse.
A location name on its own would also appear in a similar design - the block would wipe/expand from left to right, with the location name wiping on similarly.
Contact details
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak8.jpg
Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, website etc. Here's just the Facebook example. The Facebook bar slides out from screen left, as the orange bar expands from behind the DOG. The URL (or twitter username or e-mail address etc.) slides out from behind the DOG.
Coming Up
Two variants for the coming up slides. Throwing to a break or before an opt, this would be a full screen strap.
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak9.jpg
There would also be a 'preview' that could appear on screen in the middle of segments. (It can also appear over the top of the standard supers shown above.) The photo of the guest could be replaced by a relevant logo for a company/organisation/cause or need not be used at all.
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak10.jpg
Animation: white vertical bar flashes on, and the purple/orange straps expand out either side. Text slides out from the vertical bar to the left, and the photo/image to the right.
Breaking News
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak11.jpg
Developing stories do happen in the morning, and it's important to signal these clearly. I've stuck with red for Breaking News - and the strap includes a scrolling 'BREAKING NEWS' line in the background, which slowly moves from right to left.
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak12.jpg
For serious events, there's also an 'ITV News' ticker which appears across the bottom of the screen replacing the flipper. (I think a ticker works better for breaking news as content can be entered more quickly without having to worry about whether it's too long to appear in one line on the screen, or needing to condense the font - which can lead to the text simply being illegible.)
Full screens
Slide
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak13.jpg
The heading block would expand from the middle of the screen, and the heading text would slide up from beneath the darker bar. The white block would wipe down, as each item of text slides out from the left of the box.
Split screen
http://www.nickford.com/nford/daybreak/daybreak14.jpg
The LIVE block in the middle obviously wouldn't appear for content that isn't live!
OK - final thoughts from me. I appreciate this is somewhat more "American" than "British" in influence. Normally my graphics preferences tend more to the simplicity of European designs - but for breakfast TV, I think it means you sacrifice some warmth. Daybreak doesn't want to convey 'cold' and 'clinical' - this is a show that is trying to be a bit fun in the morning, which I've attempted to capture in these designs.
But over to you...
Last edited by Mr Q on 8 January 2012 1:10am
