Channel 4 brings iconic blocks back together for single brand streaming future

24 May 2023

Channel 4 is boldly bringing all its digital, social, and linear channels together under one single brand as All 4 becomes ‘Channel 4’, elevating the broadcaster’s streaming-first commitment for the digital age.

Audiences will enjoy a more seamless and connected viewing experience across all of Channel 4’s services and platforms. Whether they choose to stream or watch live, viewers only need to navigate to one single destination ‘Channel 4’ to easily find and watch the very best free entertainment available in the UK.

Channel 4 commissioned design consultancy Pentagram to collaborate with its award-winning in-house creative agency 4creative to develop a new cohesive brand identity.

Amidst an increasingly crowded digital world of available content, this innovative and entirely new design identity stretches across all of Channel 4’s streaming and linear services to help audiences easily recognise and find their favourite content and programmes from the channel.

As a starting point, Channel 4’s iconic blocks have been brought back together after eight years apart, placing the channel’s iconic Lambie-Nairn ‘4’ logo back at its heart.

Pentagram and 4creative have reimagined the 4 as a companion to viewers to guide them through Channel 4’s ‘Altogether Different’ content universe. The brand’s touchpoints are anchored by a vibrant green ‘4’, reflecting the alternative spirit of the channel, which navigates the viewer through a wider colour system of immersive gradients and worlds that reflect the rich diversity of Channel 4 content. A new iconographic language featuring a set of ‘4mojis’ has also been devised to help give the brand a sense of mischief in even the most functional of communications.

All new brand assets are underpinned by behavioural principles that flex to enable Channel 4 to retain its creative spirit in communications. These principles join a newly defined brand architecture and a sharpened articulation of Channel 4's distinctive personality and tone of voice. Together, they provide a guiding framework for the broadcaster’s future creative evolution with unlimited scope for new ideas, stories, and imagery.

Lynsey Atkin, Executive Creative Director at 4creative, said: ““It has been a privilege to work with the team at Pentagram to create a new identity for Britain’s most visually progressive broadcaster. Bringing back our iconic logo and putting it front and centre, amongst a modern and vibrant system made distinct through colour, motion, and typography, gives us the consistency necessary in today’s visually noisy world, whilst still allowing us the creative spirit inherent within the Channel 4 brand. After many, many months of work we’re delighted to see it out in the world, helping us be Altogether Different now and into the future.”

Luke Powell, Partner and Creative Director at Pentagram said: “The ask to work on a brand that is inherently rebellious and unapologetically creative, but also in need of cohesion and clarity across its channels and platforms, could seem contradictory. However, embracing this duality, the masterbrand system we’ve created unifies where it needs to, but encourages expression the rest of the time. Channel 4 is now set up with a principles-based system that can guide outputs across all of their shows, channels, collections and partnerships today, as well as preparing it for a rapidly evolving and unpredictable future.”

To help deliver Channel 4’s new look, 4creative and Pentagram worked with motion design specialists Found, and digital experts Stink Studios to bring the brand identity to life across all of Channel 4’s platforms. To complement the visuals, a new audio identity has been created by Factory and SIREN.

Continuing Channel 4’s brand transformation, the broadcaster will soon unveil a series of brand-new idents later this summer. Using an infinite loop, they are designed as an inclusive system that welcomes diversity of expression – a reflection of modern Britain and a tapestry of how we live now.

Ends

For further information:

Hope Hamilton / Corporate Press Officer / hhamilton@Channel.co.uk

07889 574798

Notes to editors:

Credits

Agency - 4creative

Executive Creative Director

- Lynsey Atkin

Deputy Executive Creative Director

- Chris Wood

Deputy Executive Creative Director

- Lambros Charalambous

Head of Design                                                       

- Rob Boon                                     

Managing Director                                                 

- Katie Jackson

Executive Producer                                             

- Louise Oliver

Senior Project Manager                                       

- John Trevor

Senior Producer                                               

- Lauren Holden

Junior Producer                                                     

- Jazz Stradling

Junior Project Manager                                        

- Lucy Newbold

Production Assistant                                             

- Emily Jacob
 

Client - Channel 4 

Chief Marketing Officer                                        

- Zaid Al-Qassab

Marketing Director                                              

- Amber Kirby

Head of Brand Transformation                          

- Matt Berry

Rebrand Director                                                   

- Mat Heinl

Programme Director                                               

- Ying Miller

Experience Design Lead                                         

- Matt Wade

Marketing Lead, Brand Transformation              

- Simi Murthy

Marketing Executive, Brand Transformation     

- Lana Camp

Design System

Created by Pentagram in collaboration with 4creative

 

Pentagram

Design team                  

Luke Powell – Partner and Creative Director

Jody Hudson-Powell – Partner and Creative Director                                                  

Jack Llewellyn – Associate Partner and Designer

Alice Sherwin – Designer 

Luis Gutierrez – Technical Director and 3D/Motion Designer

Nav Bhatia – Associate Partner and Producer

 

Strategy team               

Naresh Ramchandani – Partner and Creative Director

Ashley Johnson – Associate Partner, Brand Narrative

Isla Wickham – Project Manager

Kate Heller – Project Manager

Zoë Gibson Quirk – Strategist

Robyn Cusworth – Writer 

 

NaN.xyz

Channel 4 Typeface re-Mastered and Extended

 

On Screen Presentation (OSP)

Created by Found in collaboration with 4creative and Pentagram

 

Found

Creative Direction                      

- Jack Seymour

- Clayton Welham

Production                                     

- Sophia Georgiou

Designers                                        

- Kiril Trashliey

- Nicole Peterson

- Andrea Marshall

- Ambro Bergamaschi

- João Lucas

 

Additional credits 4creative

Creative Director                                                 

- Landy Slattery

Senior Producer                                                       

- Chloe Roberts

 

Time Based Arts (pitch and opticals)

Ian Baird

Mike Battcock

Nick Smalley

Ria Shroff

Stephen Ross

Tom Johnson

Tom Robinson

Sean Ewins

Mike Skrgatic

 

Social

Created by STINK in collaboration with 4creative and Pentagram

 

Additional credits 4creative

Digital Creative Director                                     

- Christos Savvides

Digital Creative                                                     

- Chris Rice

Digital Creative                                                     

- Greg Carter

Director                                                                 

- James Henry

Senior Producer                                                   

- Paul Gleeson

 

Sonic

Created by Factory and SIREN in collaboration with 4creative and Pentagram

Factory

Composer and Creative Director                     

- Anthony Moore

Producer                                                             

- Beth Massey

 

SIREN

Music Supervisor & Creative Director             

- Sian Rogers

 

OOH

Created by Pentagram in collaboration with 4creative

 

About Channel 4

Channel 4 exists to create change through entertainment. Publicly owned yet commercially funded, Channel 4 generates significant and sustainable cultural, economic and social impact across the UK – at no cost to the taxpayer.

The broadcaster’s distinctive remit is set by Parliament, and it has a role to represent unheard voices, challenge with purpose and reinvent entertainment. For 40 years, it has been a British success story, engaging generation after generation of young people.

Through a unique publisher-broadcaster model, Channel 4 commissions its content from the UK independent production sector. Working with around 300 creative companies every year, Channel 4 makes a major contribution to the local, regional and national economy, creating and supporting thousands of jobs and businesses across the country.

In 2020, Channel 4 launched its Future4 strategy to become a digital-first public service media company and to continue to deliver significant impact for UK audiences and investment into the UK creative economy.

Across its bases in London, Leeds, Manchester, Bristol and Glasgow, Channel 4 is turbocharging its efforts to find, nurture and develop talent across the UK. Through its training and development initiative 4Skills, Channel 4 is opening up opportunities in broadcasting, with a particular focus on disadvantaged young people, and addressing skills gaps across the Nations and Regions.

Channel 4 has the UK’s biggest free streaming service plus 11 television channels including: Channel 4, E4, E4 Extra, More4, Film4, 4Seven and The Box Plus Network. Through Film4 Productions, Channel 4 also invests in British filmmakers to huge critical acclaim, producing 37 Oscar wins and 84 BAFTA wins in its history.

https://www.channel4.com/