The dancers on BBC1

I agree, I really don't see the point of constantly changing logos. Channel 4's idents might have changed over the years but the '4' has remained the same. In America NBC, ABC & CBS have kept their logos for years, they have been imprinted on the country's consciousness because of it. BBC1 should get a logo and stick with it!!

Instead of wasting money on focus groups, they should just go back to 1991 and run with what they had then. Those BBC1 stings could (and should) have been the idents, and there was lots of variety there as they used many different styles such as hand drawn & computer animation, stop frame, and models.

Ah what might have been!!

Channel 4 have a logo that's over 20 years old, but it remains fresh because they are doing something new with it. The only thing wrong with the Channel 4 logo is that the '4' should be revealed at the end and stay on it, not appearing for a few seconds then disappearing. Apart from that they work really well especially the flaming bales one, BBC2 which used to lead the way has been left behind!!

I have a question. If the dancers are going next year, does this mean that all the channels will be changing?

Just because BBC One changes its idents doesn't mean that all the other channels will change.

However, at the moment, I don't know how many of the BBC's idents, if any, have already been made in HD. The wallpaper downloads on this page of the BBC Two logo might suggest they were made at higher than SD resolution - but that could be a red herring.

With HD broadcasts expected to start next year, it's quite likely they'll need to make some new idents in this format, and not just for BBC One... which is probably another reason why it makes sense for BBC One to get new idents at this time, and why it's not the waste of money some seem to be suggesting.

Well its official the BBC One idents are to be replaced. Someones started another thread on it, which included a Brand Republic Article.

The article seems to focus very much on the globe and seems to imply it may return. We live in hope.

But as Jenny said, New Controller. Hardly unexpected.

I heard that they've hired the brains behind TMF's new look to oversee the project...

Actually according to the other thread on here (which will probably close soon) a man responsable for the Central Cake idents is going to be responsable for the new BBC 1 idents.

I haven't copied the text over as I didn't originally write it.

And things looked so promising...

Personally I think BBC1 should be very radical. The BBC seems stuck in this very british style of trail-trail-ident-programme. It sometimes jarrs a bit when the flow of the junction into the programme is interrupted by an ident which bears very little relation to what is around it.... especially if it's just to annouce something which appeared in the preceding pointer. There are better ways of doing things as ITV, C4 and some of the digital channels show - have coming up pointers that run straight into the programme (like ITV do at present). Is thre a need to have any continuity before some programmes, the News for example?

I really think that whoever designs what comes next should do a bit of travelling, especially to the US and see how much better some other stations do it

As the other thread was closed, here is something I believe a lot of people will be interested in, as published by media guardian:


Stokoe set to redesign BBC One identity

In a surprise move, BBC One controller Peter Fincham has revealed that a team of former Central Television graphic artists led by Jim Stokoe are working on the forthcoming BBC One re-brand.

Fincham commented that "We considered many ideas, and even contemplated reinstating the balloons. I wanted to get away from live action idents and instead focus on building a brand around a set of graphical elements, using CG techniques. Jim and his colleagues achieved that nearly a decade ago, so I'm confident that their latest efforts won't fail to surprise".

Stokoe also seemed upbeat about the news, but tight-lipped about what the re-brand would involve. "I am really enjoying this project. The creative team is identical to that responsible for the central idents. We are using the same techniques as before, but obviously with vastly more powerful hardware. This project is really pushing the software to its limits".

The Central identity was widely acclaimed by those in the industry and the public at large, but was controversially scrapped following a take-over by Carlton in 1999.

The announcement came as a surprise to Martin Lambie Nairn, head of the agency responsible for the dancer identity. "The dancers were designed to be reflective of the multicultural nature of British society. In that, I believe they succeeded."

Lorraine Heggessey, the controller responsible for the dancers, declined to comment.

The new idents will air from the new year.

Well seen as this ones now re-opened; welcome back.

Interesting MG article. I now wondering if this is just merly a BBC 1 rebrand. Or, have I missed something?

I can't find this story on Media Guardian - the link in the other thread comes up with URL not found.

I wonder if this story is in the online Guardian newspaper, if it is then you have to pay a subscription. That's could be why we can't access it.