Design Production for Digital//Top 10...//CBBC Idents.

Researching the idents of children's television channel, CBBC, as an alternative to the Nat Geo Wild Channel I had previously been considering, but disregarded due to poor engagement links with my chosen target audience of 5-11 year olds. In my initial research, the CBBC Channel was a strong contender, so I decided to revisit some of their existing idents to see how my illustrative vector style could fit into their existing designs.

The original CBBC ident- or, as the channel was then known 'Children's BBC'- very different to some of the more iconically branded and styalised idents of the new millennium 

(existing examples posted and analysed below).

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the "bug" ident range from the CBBC channel, though I can see how it certainly brings character and a sense of identity to the channels programmes. In the examples above, motion effects are used to great effect within a short space of time to effectively achieve the true purpose of an ident- to tell an engaging, and often fast-paced story in a very short amount of time.

Again, more example of the bug(s) character which for several years became a distinct feature of the CBBC channel- with varying motion graphics effects and designs, varying visual communication and application of colour- with always with the same character in green, which helps to prevent inconsistencies, as well as providing the channel with the aforementioned "branded" visual outcome and design communication to it's viewers.

In more recent years, the channel has adopted a slightly more mature style of motion graphics animation, perhaps to engage an older target market? Still with the same, distinctive colour palette of black, white and green, CBBC utilise typography in short bursts of varying motion effects to communicate the energy and liveliness of the channel in a bold, vector-like way. Fun and engaging- great way to simply

but effectively engage an audience.

* Although my chosen colour palette (for my 'Top 10... Things You Need To Know About Penguins'- more information of which can be found on my Design Practice blog, and that of the BBC aren't a brilliant match, I feel, now looking back at existing idents and show reels, that my proposed programme would be much more suited to the CBBC channel (as opposed to Nat Geo Wild, as I had originally concluded). Not only is the target market for my programme "spot on" 5-11 years, but also frequently showcases animated programmes along with nature shows such as 'The Really Wild Show', and, in more recent years, 'Deadly 60'.