(posted 7905 days ago)Hitting them for a five
Clare Dowdy
FT.com site; Sep 02, 2002Channel 5, or five as we will come to think of it, is changing its look. Out go the brash colour palette and digit in a circle created by Wolff-Olins, in comes something rather more sophisticated. After all, the channel is as old as its number this year, and public perception, research shows, was lagging behind reality. Programming has got smarter, the channel claims, and this needs to be reflected in the image.
The rebranding (shown below), which goes to air on September 16, is the work of Spin, an agency that admits that broadcast design is only 25 per cent of its portfolio. Spin isn't based in Soho or Clerkenwell, but unglamorous Kennington in South London. And rather than having its founders' names over the door, it is named after a cricketing term.
Channel 5's director of marketing, David Pullan, deliberately went off piste for the rebranding appointment. Having reviewed the obvious contenders in London, the continent and the US, he dismissed them all, including London's Farrow Design and yU+co in Los Angeles.
Spin was set up by Tony Brook and his partner Patricia Finegan. In the past 10 years they've created a business with clients as varied as Nike and Deutsche Bank, and have a projected turnover of £3.6m for 2002.
There are now 25 staff enjoying the 8,000 sq ft studio space in Kennington, with two chefs to provide lunch every day. But despite all this, and a couple of D&AD awards, Spin is surprisingly low- profile. TV branding is generally regarded as a specialism - think of Lambie-Nairn (now part of Enterprise IG) and English & Pockett (now part of FutureBrand). In the past, these agencies would have been unlikely to attract anyone but broadcast clients.
Spin, however, has kept a balance between on-air, interactive and print design, which makes up the bulk of its work. It was behind Channel 4's vapour trail branding in 2000, created an identity for Whitechapel Art Gallery, and designed a book for fashion photographer Rankin.
Brook puts this variety down to his immersion in the music business. For 10 years all he designed was record sleeves - Wham!'s Club Tropicana cover is one of his - and the thrill of diversifying with Spin has stayed with him. Spin is now Nike's main UK design agency, creating in-store graphics and packaging, and it is working on the identity for a new 10,000 sq ft gallery space off Bond Street, called Haunch of Venison, which opens next month. Spin also provided the on-screen graphics and packaging for EA Games' FIFA 2003.
Despite the low profile so far, the odd award is making them better known. Brook is hoping that a good reaction to five will pitch Spin into the big league.
claredowdy@hotmail.com