Station Ident: Channel 4

Motion Graphic Design

Assignment: Station Idents

Network: Channel 4

Station Identification, also known as idents, or Channel ID is a means of helping viewers to identify the channel they are currently watching. It appears before, in-between, or after a program. It could be in auditory or visual form, depending on the medium used.

For this assignment, students are to revamp a station ident for a particular television channel or network of their choice. They are to create five different station idents and ensuring that they are consistent in terms of branding, storyline, and graphic styles of the television channel or network. The duration for each ident should not exceed 10 seconds.

The network chosen for this assignment is Channel 4, a British television network. Channel 4 presents a myriad of programs on their network, with their idents normally in animated form which helps to strengthen the attraction of the viewers for the channel.

Channel 4 has been on air for more than three decades, it has created a name for itself throughout the years. The world is constantly changing, so do the people’s interest, so it is only appropriate they maintain relevance by staying on trend to cater to the public’s current interest.

The current station idents for Channel 4 displays a towering silver giant made from blocks. While the giant has been shown much love from the locals, it is difficult for non-locals to identify which station the giant belonged to.

Their previous animated idents have also received positive reactions from audience, cementing their preference for the channel. Since animation is suitable for viewers of all ages, and can be easily identified, I feel it is suitable to revamp their current ident.

The concept for the stations idents is isometry. Isometry is follows what is known as isometric projection to create a visual representation of a three-dimensional object in two dimensions. The reason for choosing isometry is because it is trending now, and all broadcasting channels need to be on trend to stay relevant and ensure that their idents maintain their audience’s views.

Below are illustrations that served as inspirations. It looks very simple and minimalistic, but gives a very strong visual appearance.

Since we are to do five different station idents, I did a research to see what programs Channel 4 offers and narrowed it down specifically to Music, Cooking Shows, TV Shows, Kid's Programs, and Holiday Special.

Below is the revamped station idents for Channel 4. From left to right, top to bottom: The first one represents the music programs available on Channel 4, as evident from the speakers and the movements of the blocks. The second ident represents the cooking shows as the yellow block takes the form of a french fry freshly cooked. The third ident represents the TV shows shown on Channel 4. The fourth ident is made from lego, attracting the attention of younger viewers, to show that there are programs suitable for children. The final ident is a Holiday Special ident because there is a present, Christmas stockings, and a Christmas hat to tell the audience that the channel plays programs in conjunction to Christmas.