The Window on the World idents were a set of idents used by BBC Two from 18 February 2007 until 13 November 2014. They were created by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO and produced by Red Bee Media. The idents featured a number 2 cut out of, or made out of parts of the everyday environment.
By 2007 BBC Two needed a thorough rebrand as the previous idents were starting to lose their purpose. A new set of idents was therefore commissioned by advertising agency Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, and was produced by Red Bee Media, who made the then current idents for BBC One. The new design needed to work, both on television, but also online, as a website and as live streaming feed. The two companies collaborated in all aspects of the process and both contributed people to the process. Paul Brazier, Creative director at AMV and Andy Bryant, Director of Creative at Red Bee Media both were involved in the project, as were Rob Oliver (Art Director, AMV), Chris Bardsley (Writer, AMV), John Golley (Producer, RBM), Joanna Bailey, Michael Geoghegan, Marky, Ian Cross and Stuart Hilton (directors FAQ at Picasso Pictures). On screen presentation was by Paul Mitchell (Chief Designer, RBM) and produced by Lisa Rathband (RBM) with music by Vince Pope from Beetroot and animation was by Picasso Pictures. [1] [2] [3]
Our famous 2 is one of the most recognisable and durable brand images in British media, and this latest evolution takes it into fresh and exciting territory. These new idents embody all of BBC Two's distinctive humour, creativity, playfulness and surprise – and they're also beautifully-executed pieces of film-making in their own right.
The 2007 design had to compare well with its predecessors, and still had to represent BBC Two's programming character and to be an effective promotion of the channel.
AMV has delivered a really clear, simple creative idea with endless possibilities. It expertly captures both the channel's brand values and its personality in a wide range of scenarios that reveal gripping, exciting and exhilarating situations. We were keen to keep the clever, witty and mischievous personality of the 2 but move it into a whole new space. The new channel identity reflects the way that the brand has evolved over the last five years. It has been skilfully brought to life by Red Bee, which has produced the idents and the complementary on-screen presentation system.
The new idents featured a numeral '2' that was slightly different from that used by the channel since 2001, despite assurances by James Pestell that the distinctive '2' would stay. The difference is seen as negligible by some, and absolute sacrilege by others. [1]
The idents all featured a numeral 2, with a view or scape behind it, as viewers looked through the 2. The new look also featured a new design of BBC Two logo. The previously purple box has now been turned a deep shade of aqua, very similar to the viridian used by the 1991 idents. The text has also been changed, with the 'TWO' font being changed to Avenir, from Gill Sans previously. This box was placed to the left of the 2 numeral, opposite to where it was in the previous look, and faded in at the end of the ident. [1] Once again, no clock accompanied the look, and appears to have been abandoned by the BBC. Promotions began with clips of the programme, before the clips were encompassed inside a 2, as it moved back to the endslide, featuring programme name and BBC Two box logo on the left with a full size 2 on the right through which the clips can still be seen. This theme also existed with the breakdown slide, with clips being used from the Seascape ident. Programme stills also still existed, despite being restricted to the schools programming on early mornings, and featured an enlarged middle section of '2' with the top and bottom not visible, off screen, with the programme picture in this large 2 shape. [1] [3]
The Window on the World idents have had three branding refreshes: October 2008, June 2009 and March 2013.
The October 2008 refresh was not openly marketed and was unnoticed, except for those eagle eyed few. The refresh would have seen a number of the idents dropped, and the BBC Two logo dropped in favour of the BBC logo in the bottom right corner of the 2. The look was launched on 1 October 2008, and was only seen twice: Sunroof at 6 am that day, and Seascape later that evening prior to night time programming at 12.50 on 2 October 2008. This new refresh was stopped for internal reasons, and the BBC has never explained this. [2]
The June refresh was by far more successful than the last. This refresh resulted in a number of the idents being dropped and a new style for continuity adopted. The new promotion style involved the endboard design being changed to a large 2, tilted at an angle and filling the left half of the screen with programme information and BBC Two logo on the right of the screen. The most striking thing about these endboards was the bright colour palette used. The end boards could be any colour of the spectrum, however are generally bright fluorescent colours with some programming featuring dark grey endboards. Now and next boards also featured the new style, but using mainly, the same blue as the box logo, and featuring videos from the idents in the slanted 2. This colour was also the main colour used by nations and regions. The breakdown slide was also modified (albeit with apparent haste) to the new style and programme slides were also transferred with both featuring the deep blue of the logo as the only variant. [2]
The idents themselves were also changed, with some dropped (namely ones where the '2' did not stay intact and full on screen), and the remaining idents altered so that the BBC Two logo was transferred to the right of the 2, and was present at the beginning of the ident, but faded out before the end. [2]
A second refresh took place to coincide with the launch of BBC Two HD, replacing the BBC HD channel. All idents were updated with new soundtracks, with some even having two or three different versions. Three of the idents (Mirror, Seascape and Tent) feature songs from alt-J. [5] Many also lost the sound effects which went along with them. The "Window on the World" idents were phased out on 13 November 2014 following the return of the 1990s idents in July that year.
| Title | Air dates | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Cappuccino | 18 February 2007 – 17 June 2009 | A paper with a 2 cut out is held over a cup, while chocolate pieces are sprinkled on top. The paper is then removed, so we can see, albeit through the stencil, that there is now a chocolate 2 atop a cappuccino. This ident was the first to be shown at 10:00am. There were two variants to this ident. The formup is the same, but in one the 2 is disturbed by the drinker dropping in two sugar cubes, and the other by the drinker scooping the froth off of the top. |
| Chase | 18 February 2007 – 17 June 2009 | A man is being chased through some woods by a number of men with dogs. He looks around and hides in a various places involving 2's. There are five variations of this ident. The first, we see the man falling just site of a rock with a 2 in it. He then gets up and runs off to the right of the 2 and out of sight. Viewers then see the man chasing him run by, and as the camera moves, we see the man hiding behind the tree. Another involves a wood with a 2 hole in it. The man chased flees up underneath this 2, jumping on top and hiding out of site from below. A third involves the man diving down a 2 shaped hole in rock shelf and hiding as we see has captors continue by jumping over the hole. He then emerges to run back again. The fourth involves the man hiding behind a rock with a small 2 cut in the top, allowing us to see his captors getting ever closer. The last is shot in daytime and features our man running towards the 2 cut in the rock, running through it and turning away as his pursuers follow. The soundtrack in all is the same beat on drums, similar to bongo drums. |
| Mirror | 18 February 2007 – 13 November 2014 | A drop slides down a mirror in the shape of a 2, and as the camera pans out we can see that the mirror is attached to the side of a car as it moves at speed down highways unknown. Originally there were two versions of this, both featuring different road scenes and different soundtracks. The original version features a slow piano piece and is used to link into serious programming. The other is a more light hearted, up beat version. The soundtrack since the 2013 refresh is "Fitzpleasure" by alt-J. [5] It was retired on 13 November 2014 following the return of the 1990s idents. During the June 2009 refresh, this ident is the only one, where the logo fades in at the end. |
| Seascape | 18 February 2007 – 13 November 2014 | A shot of the sea than pans back, through a large 2 shaped hole in the sea defences, with the sea breaking all around the hole. After the 2013 refresh, there were two variants of Seascape, both featuring different soundtracks. The soundtrack of one variant was "Intro" by alt-J. [5] Used to introduce news programs. This ident, along with the other idents in the package, was phased out on 13 November 2014. |
| Sunroof | 18 February 2007 – 13 November 2014 | A shot of the leaves on a tree through a seemingly ordinary sunroof. The camera rotates round as the roof opens to reveal the sun roof is in fact a lot larger, and is the shape of a 2. An alternative version was produced to promote Wonders of the Solar System, in which the view through the sunroof is of a starry night sky. This variant was sometimes used for programmes with a space or specifically nighttime theme. This ident, along with the other idents in the package, was phased out on 13 November 2014. |
| Tent | 18 February 2007 – 13 November 2014 | A zip on yellow fabric is followed as it unzips a large 2 shaped door to a tent, revealing a scene outside. There are three versions of this ident, all having different scenery. The first is of a polar landscape, and our owner is wearing large thick furs and coats. Another features a beach in the sunset with some friends sitting around a campfire. The final one looks out onto a festival, with tents as far as the eye can see. The soundtrack is different with each version: the beach version had a guitar version, the festival version featuring an electric guitar version with a high tempo and friendly feel, with the polar version of a slow tempo version, similar to the festival. A fourth version showed a starry night sky through the opening and was used for space or night-themed programming. The soundtrack on the Explorer variant, after the 2013 refresh, was "Something Good" by alt-J. [5] The Festival variant was withdrawn during the March 2013 refresh. This ident, along with the other idents in the package, was phased out on 13 November 2014. |
| Zoetrope | 18 February 2007 – 13 November 2014 | A futuristic city scape of flying cars and high glass buildings pans out to reveal, it is a Zoetrope, with 2's on the outside edge that you look through. A short clip was used as the opening sting on BBC iPlayer from launch until 13 November 2014, where it was phased out along with the other idents in the package. |
| Tagging – Football | 18 March 2007 – 26 March 2013 | The tagging idents are some of the most controversial in the station's history. A somewhat juddery look through a stencil as a man runs up on a football ground, sprays a 2 on a football in pink spray paint before panning up to see the angry players chasing the person off the screen. |
| Tagging – Policeman | 18 March 2007 – 17 June 2009 | Similar to the football tagging ident, a man with stencil runs up behind a policeman dealing with some disturbance and sprays a black 2 stencil on his back, before running back across the road. |
| Tagging – Gallery | 18 March 2007 – 17 June 2009 | Similar to those above, a man with a stencil, first checks to see that the Gallery attendant isn't watching, before spraying a fluorescent green 2 on the wall in an Art Gallery. The attendant notices and the man is chased out the building. |
| Tagging – Skate | 18 March 2007 – 17 June 2009 | Once again similar to the last few, now in a skate park, dodging a number of youths on skateboards. A 2 is added to an already heavily graffitied wall. |
As well as this set of idents, some special ones were made for Christmas and for other programmes. The Christmas idents are below:
Some specific programme idents are shown below, some of which didn't have the logo in them:
There have been a few criticisms of the look. The tagging idents have been some of the most controversial in the channel's history. The juddery camera work and shoddy appearance made it appear as though it was shot on a camcorder and done by an amateur. These idents were all dropped, except Football that remained in use until the 2013 refresh. [2]
Another controversial issue is that of the 2009 redesigned endboards. Their basic design itself is not criticised, but the main cause of concern is the highly colourful appearance. The colours are highly fluorescent with few programmes using darker colours. The light colours are widely used, regardless of programme, which means promotions for Newsnight may be in bright yellow. This lack of concern for colour has caused outrage at the inappropriate nature of some of the colours. [2]
Good Food was a cookery channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland, latterly as part of the Discovery, Inc. network of channels. The channel originally launched on 5 November 2001 and relaunched in its final format on 22 June 2009. Good Food was available on satellite through Sky, on cable through Virgin Media, and through IPTV with TalkTalk TV, BT TV. From 2015 to 2018, Good Food was temporarily rebranded as Christmas Food during the festive season.
The BBC One Balloon idents were a series of idents used on the British TV channel BBC One from 4 October 1997 to 28 March 2002. The balloon theme replaced the computer-generated spinning globe that had been used as the main ident on the channel since 1991. It launched on the same day as a BBC-wide rebrand, and thus the new idents also carried the new BBC logo. The channel's name also changed from BBC1 to BBC One. This was the last ident set used by the channel when it fully closed down; the last proper closedown took place in the early hours of 9 November 1997. Starting the following day, BBC News 24 would broadcast on BBC One during closedown, which continues today.
Noddy was a camera system used for generating idents for the BBC One and BBC Two television channels from late 1963 to February 1985.
The history of BBC television idents begins in the early 1950s, when the BBC first displayed a logo between programmes to identify its service. As new technology has become available, these devices have evolved from simple still black and white images to the sophisticated full colour short films seen today. With the arrival of digital services in the United Kingdom, and with them many more new channels, branding is perceived by broadcasters to be much more important, meaning that idents need to stand out from the competition.
The BBC One 'Circle' idents were a set of on-screen channel identities used on BBC One from 7 October 2006 to 4 December 2016. They also featured on the BBC Studios channel, BBC America. The idents contained images of circles being formed by nature, or people and their actions. This was the longest set of idents that was used by BBC One, as they lasted for 10 years.
The ITV television network in the United Kingdom began as a group of regional stations, each with their own identities. Each station used its own idents to create an individual identity.
The "Virtual Globe" was the method of creating the BBC1 symbol that was used between 16 February 1991 and 4 October 1997.
The logo of the BBC has been a brand identity for the corporation and its work since the 1950s in a variety of designs. Until the introduction of a logo in 1958, the corporation had relied on its coat of arms for official documentation and correspondence, although this crest rarely appeared onscreen. With the increased role of television for the BBC in the 1960s, particularly after the foundation of ITV, the corporation used its logo to increase viewer familiarity and to standardise its image and content. The logo has since been redesigned a number of times, most recently in 2021 with the BBC blocks, a logo designed to work across media. From 1958, for this television network, there have been six different logos. The first logo of the network was used from 1958 to 1963, the second from 1963 to 1971, the third from 1971 to 1992, the fourth from 1988 to 1997, the fifth from 1997 to 2021, while the sixth and current logo was adopted in October 2021.
The BBC TwoPersonality idents were a set of idents used on BBC Two from 19 November 2001 until 18 February 2007. The idents were produced by the Lambie-Nairn branding agency, who had created the previous look. The idents feature an ivory sans serif white '2' in a yellow environment and performing a variety of tasks, and a purple boxed BBC Two logo.
The BBC Two 'Two' ident was the station identification used on BBC2 between 30 March 1986 and 16 February 1991. It was the last non-corporate look for the channel, and the only look until 2018 that did not feature a numeral '2' in the design.
BBC Schools, also known as BBC for Schools and Colleges, is the educational programming strand set up by the BBC in 1957, broadcasting a range of educational programmes for children aged 5–16. From launch until June 1983, programming was based on BBC1 during the daytime, apart from coverage of major news events which saw the programmes shifted to BBC2. In September 1983 programming was transferred permanently to BBC2 freeing BBC1 to develop its own daytime schedule. The strand, named Daytime on Two, remained on BBC Two until March 2010, later supplemented by the 'Class TV' strand on the CBBC Channel.
The Computer Generated 2 was an ident used by BBC Two between June 1979 and 30 March 1986. It was the first computer generated television station identification in the world.
The Striped 2 was an ident used by BBC2 between 28 December 1974 and June 1979. The ident featured a numeral 2 made out of horizontal lines.
The Cube 2 was an ident used by BBC Two between 2 December 1967 and 28 December 1974. It featured a stylised '2' that rotated on screen.
The Launch ident was a television station identification used by BBC Two between their launch night in 1964 and the introduction of colour in 1967.
Throughout the years, Children's BBC, and later CBBC and CBeebies, have used a number of different identities. The branding of the stranded service is distinctive both in the past and at present.
BBC Four, and its predecessor BBC Knowledge, are both channels operated by the BBC as cultural and knowledge based channels. Their visual identities therefore have been a result of this aim.
The presentation and the identities of the BBC News Channel, the international counterpart BBC World News and the BBC Parliament coverage channel use specific identities that demonstrate their remit and purpose.
The BBC One 'Oneness' idents were a set of on-screen channel identities used on BBC One from December 2016 through April 2022; soft launched with the channel's Christmas presentation, and officially launched on 1 January 2017, the idents largely featured scenes of people performing everyday activities across various locations in the United Kingdom. The idents were developed by BBC Creative in collaboration with photographer Martin Parr.
HGTV is a British free-to-air television channel interior home and garden-orientated lifestyle television channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland, currently owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel originally launched on 1 November 1997 as UK Style and then was rebranded to Home on 30 April 2009 and was rebranded to its current form on 21 January 2020. HGTV is broadcast 24 hours a day on Sky and TVPlayer. UK Style was transmitted by terrestrial provider ITV Digital 24 hours a day until the company's collapse in 2002. After a slight rebrand to UKTV Style, the channel made a return to terrestrial screens for a time in the mid-2000s as part of the now-defunct Top Up TV system. Home became available as a free-to-air linear service on Freeview from 1 March 2016.
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