A TELLING VISION:
VICE UNVEILS MINIMALIST BRANDING
March 2016
In a world of increasingly complex visual identities, Vice’s new TV channel has boldly refused to follow suit
There must be be something in the airwaves. Spring has only just sprung but media publisher Vice’s recent launch of its new TV channel follows two major channel rebrands this year: BBC3 and Channel 5. But unlike the lukewarm response that greeted BBC3 and Channel 5’s rebrands, Viceland’s stripped-back, no-frills aesthetic has been widely praised for going against the grain of contemporary branding.
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An industry in turmoil
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Starting out in the 1990s as a print magazine, Vice’s move into television follows in the wake of a host of new formats disrupting how and what we watch. Video on demand (VOD) services are on a seemingly indomitable rise: their pioneer, Netflix, is now in nearly a quarter of UK households, and during peak hours in North America, is singlehandedly responsible for 37% of downstream Internet traffic. As copycat services rapidly claim their own market-share, the pressures on traditional broadcasters are growing exponentially.
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The overladen brand-wagon
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In a bid to maintain interest, broadcasters have responded with a host of elaborate, image-heavy rebrands. MTV’s new identity last year epitomizes the tendency towards visual excess; based on digital trends and a neon palate, its idents merged graphics from memes, gifs and emojis in a fluorescent flurry. The brand responded to long-term concerns about losing its eponymous generation. But in its attempt to reconnect with lost watchers, MTV created a brand so brazenly ‘on trend’ that it prompted bafflement and ridicule on its unveiling.
The collage aesthetic has recently re-emerged, albeit more mutedly, in Channel 5’s rebrand: mismatched patterns that are ‘exciting clashes of personality’. Yet its core visuals are less exciting and more predictable: each of the channel’s five sub-brands share a ‘5’ logo, built from five jigsaw pieces. In an industry newly dominated by the ‘non-linear’ television provided by VODs, this numeric focus appears dated, and some condemned it as a copy of Channel 4 on a budget.
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Monochrome minimalism
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Amongst this influx of glittering graphics and predictable logos, Viceland’s image-free simplicity is a canny refusal to join in. Its black lettering (in mainstream font, Helvetica) on white background is generic. And calculatedly so. The brand’s maxim, ‘We don’t chase trends’, is in strategic contrast to the exact tactics adopted by MTV. At a time where entire press releases are being written in emoji-form, Viceland’s conventional typography is a welcome relief. Most cunningly, its ‘blank’ identity silently implies that the content’s quality can speak for itself.
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The only other channel rebrand which approximates this refreshing minimalism is BBC 3’s recent rebrand, centred around a logo of three white strikes on block pink. There is a symmetry in the comparison, as BBC 3 turned digital-only just before Viceland moved to our television sets. Yet unlike Vice’s assertive tone (their brand-book is largely written in imperatives), BBC 3’s unveiling was defensive, including a self-deprecating video attempting to forestall its critics. Their anxiety is an insight into just how high the high stakes are for a rebrand in today’s pressurised market.
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A striking start
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In a difficult climate, Viceland’s launch has been distinctive; they have convincingly rejected a seat on other channels’ trend-chasing brand-wagon. As we help all our clients to do, the brand has identified and demonstrated what makes them unique. It is a pleasing contradiction that, in this case, originality has been achieved through pursuing the generic. Whether this initial success will prove enough to secure a future against digital competitors remains to be seen.