20 Years (1991-)

Well, tomorrow (Wednesday), It will have been 20 years since the debut of the Iconic BBC 1991 Batch.

The Page is on TVA here: http://www2.tv-ark.org.uk/bbctwo/1991_idents.html

But the server's down for maintenance, so you could watch it at youtube here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2LloGNwrao

A very classy ident and package, one that wouldn't look too bad today with a bit of updating for 16:9/HD. And the last of the era of static, music-less idents for BBC1.

20 years though! Time flies.

Always amazes me how great the '91 originals looked even in 16:9 re-edit form. I mean just look at this; completely timeless.

Most could easily be brought back today, although my hope would be for a revisiting of the theme in the near future complete with new ideas rather than simply bringing the oldies back, as wonderful as that would be.

They look ultra smooth in that version Jonny.

I thought a while ago how they might have converted to 16:9, and if you line it all up in PS you start to see how. Notice how the paint initally comes on to the screen quite quickly, then hits the "2" slower, then starts accelerating once it leaves the "2" again...?

I think it's because somehow they managed to stretch just the sides of the ident, like with the content aware scaling feature in PS.

Woah 20 years already . Where does the time go? 20 years ago today we would have seen these idents for the last time:

BBC1 COW globe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZdQOYA5SnY

BBC2 "TWO" ident:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12v5i9ORILs

20 years ago today Lambie Nairn launched a new globe for BBC1 and more importantly the legendary BBC2 idents. They are design classics and still look classy today.

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n211/cylon1_2006/bbc2_junction8_160291a.jpg

And the new globe debuted just before Going Live on Saturday morning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6oqzg5i5LI

And the new 2 logo was revealed later in the afternoon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu9Zt5jzhEo&feature=related

The original set of '2s' are classic idents but I don't think they'd stand up that well today, even though the logo itself does still work well on TV (albeit the execution of them hasn't always been great).

They look too shiny and arty compared with everything else today. Their styling is very 90's to me - great for the time and as a 'here comes the 90's' vibe but just wouldn't look in place today, especially if they'd been on air for 20 years. The 1991 BBC1 symbol was never that good and has dated even worse, especially as it was overshadowed by it's replacement.

The 1991 branding was excellent though, the unified look between the 2 channels (3 if you include the fledging World Service TV) with the strip down the left hand side containing logo and ident graphic was nice in it's original form

I think the original '2s' stand up very well because, much like when they debuted, other idents at the time used lots of computer graphics. And idents now use the trick of having a piece of film with the channel logo put on at the end such as with ITV.

I prefer my channel logos where the logo itself is the star and can be manipulated. Nothing has really worked as well as the original '2s' and then the additions (pre white 2 yellow background era).

The BBC1 logo itself could have worked if they used that as the logo rather than having a globe. The '1' that featured inside the globe and was used to link to trailers was rather striking and the animations for the stings showed what could have been achieved. It was a missed opportunity.

Somehow the '1' logo never achieved the recognition or status that the '2' did, possibly because it was combined with the globe, which also was too indistinct in my opinion. I never really liked the 1991 BBC One globe.

The '2's however were virtually all a work of art, individually and collectively. Simple, clean but extremely creative and flexible. The brand allowed for humour, sensitivity, impact and subtlety. The shape of the 2 (a Gill Bold 2 IIRC) means it could become a chisel blade shooting along a worktop, a sword emerging from the water, a swan, a cuddly puppy (!). It's one of Lambie-Nairns very best IMO.

Here's a link to one of the original batch that didn't last very long at all: Crystal Ball. IIRC it was felt that the '2' brand was shown too briefly and that the audience wouldn't get it. Something Channel 4's current batch of idents rely on..!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmijPHKNYpc&feature=related

The shape of the '2' of course remains in use today - which must say something about the image's longevity. I wasn't keen on the yellow era, but I don't mind the current batch. However, seeing these again has reminded me of just how stunningly good this set and its successors were.

The current lot come in for a lot of flack (mostly from myself, admittedly ) but taken in isolation, the idents themselves aren't all that bad. The problem lies elsewhere in how the look has been managed as well as in the surrounding presentational style, something the '91, '97 and '01 packages all got spot on.

From the bizarre way in which some idents were prioritised over others before eventually being dropped entirely, to the brand-killing "Tagging" series and aborted refreshes, I get the feeling they somehow ended up with a package they didn't really want (I don't think Roly Keating was around for much longer after its inception). Realising they were stuck with them for the next 5 years at least and with no desire to expand the set, in sheer panic they reached down the back of the sofa and instigated a refresh of spectacularly misguided proportions in an attempt to be the best of both, wacky and sophisticated, to be achieved via a series of colourful endboards.

I'm sure they would have gone on to be remembered a lot more kindly had the design team put a bit of extra effort into the first adequate but dull presentational style, producing a more dynamic and cohesive all-round package, along with ensuring more to the standard of Mirror and Cappuccino were added every so often.

Still, they can't really hold a light to the classic era, though you could argue one or two would slot in rather well (Mirror for the interaction with the 2 and Zoetrope for capturing the dark feel of the 90s).

The early-to-mid 90s was a classy time. You had the BBC1 whispy globe, the fabulous 2s, the brilliant perspex 'G' ident on Granada from 95, and the wonderful Channel 4 blocks. All classics IMO.