"Rebrand"

27 September 2018

1 min 39s

Inspecting the Beeb's number twos

Was it really back in the early 90s that the BBC's animated '2' numeral first sprang into life? It feels like only the blink of an eye since it began appearing on our screens.

The myriad incarnations - from '2'-shaped swans to yapping animatronic furries and beyond - have been part of our televisual landscape for around quarter of a century, but it's a testament to their strength as idents that they still feel fresh.

However. They're now being retired, and for those of us who have harboured a great fondness for them they're a hard act to follow.

So well done to everyone involved in the channel's new identity. Because this set of abstract images, based loosely around the curve of the numeral, is terrific. A richness of textures, shapes and colours make them endlessly fascinating - but it's the sound design that brings it all together.

Composer Alex Baranowski has used just two notes which change and evolve; insinuating themselves into the movement of each individual ident and reflecting their surfaces in sound.

The BBC's press release tells us that the new look "continuously and seamlessly reflects the breadth of emotions evoked by BBC Two's stimulating content." That sounds like post-rationalisation to us, but who cares when this is the result?

UK

TV Stations