Deutsche Welle

TV Channel Branding 
2018











Beyond Broadcast 


DW invited us to pitch for their 2018 Channel Branding Refresh, against some of Europe’s most established branding agencies. Our winning proposal went beyond the original brief, promising to deliver not just a package for broadcast, but a design system that would define how motion behaves across DW’s entire digital and broadcast presence. I led a small team of visual and motion designers throughout the original pitch and two project phases.









Objectivity at its core


Our approach hinged on reflecting DW’s core mission, to provide unbiased quality journalism that is strongly committed to freedom of speech and democratic values. DW have a global reputation as a platform for diverse opinions and perspectives, offering authoritative and reliable reporting  that goes beyond the breaking news headline.




 






Modelling the Storyline


When reporting a story, journalists will rely on multiple sources that may offer subjective or contradictory accounts of what happened. Over time, these come together to build a bigger picture, a more objective account of the facts. The Storyline model is made up of contrasting typography, colour and photographic elements that continuously stay in motion, each contrasting component revealed over time.











Instant Identity


The channel idents rely on the same principles of contrast and motion as the Storyline model, but here the focus is on juxtaposing imagery to illustrate the importance of context. Each ident is built around a common theme, illustrated by two video sequences. On their own the individual clips give just one perspective of a theme, but combined they can clarify, contradict or reframe the overall meaning, providing food for thought beyond their 5 second runtime. 




© Barnaby Hewlett 2020. All rights reserved.