MUMBAI: In an attempt to move away from cluttered screens and heavy graphics, CNN International will unveil a new look on Monday, 6 February. The re-design covers all parts of the on-air look including a new position and treatment for the network logo, network identity spots and music, full-screen graphics, lower third fonting and network colour scheme.
Explaing the logic behind the move CNN International senior VP Rena Golden says, “Our priority is to ensure that our viewers around the globe, many of whom do not speak English as a first language, understand and engage with the news we deliver. The uncluttered screen and enhanced concise graphics will now allow our video and journalism to breathe fully. This redesign serves the viewer better: allowing our journalism to take centre stage and engage more, while giving better navigational information”.
CNN International will also adopt the internationally recognised colour for alert, yellow, for its breaking news graphics. In addition, the ‘news ticker’ or ‘crawl’ that is common to all news networks will be replaced by a new information bar that displays one complete sentence, or story, at a time allowing viewers to concentrate on the main part of the screen.
Audience navigation of the network and its programs was also a critical part of the re-design. New navigational tools and graphics will allow viewers to see what news coverage and programming is coming up in the hours ahead. The next phase of this project will include new sets in Atlanta, London and Hong Kong.
Underlining the international concept of the channel and its global distribution of more than 186 million households world wide, the design work for the new look was overseen by the network’s creative director Mark Wright, together with various international creative agencies and London based independent consultant Frank Lampen.
The new identity has been created to better serve the needs of the channel’s global citizen viewers, and includes new news graphics, navigation and promotion elements, opening title animations, a new logo and new music.
CNN International’s in house design team worked with a selection of London based creative partners on the project. CNN International’s redesign removes graphic elements to create a cleaner look which prioritises live video. The result the chanel states is a more focussed use of design elements, and reduced clutter.
In a radical break from the norm in news channels, CNN International is abandoning the traditional “news ticker” that runs along the bottom of the screen, in favour of a new system which displays one complete story at a time, allowing viewers to get regular headline updates whilst not being distracted from the main part of the screen.
CNN International’s new identity keeps the channel’s classic red logotype, but sets it in a white carrier. The globe, which differentiates CNN International from its sister US channel, has been updated to a silver and glass globe set within a square window, and this new device is used across idents, promotions and navigation elements.
In keeping with the channel’s international nature, the project has been run jointly from London and CNN’s headquarters in Atlanta. A collection of London-based agencies worked with CNN’s in-house production and music composition teams in the US.
The project has been led by CNN International’s US-based creative director Mark Wright, CNN’s marketing director for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Mark Haviland, and London based independent creative consultant Frank Lampen.
A number of agencies worked with CNN International to develop the new look. Strategic direction for the project and the core creative treatment for news presentation and navigation graphics were developed by London agency Kemistry. Graham McCallum, Marc Ortmans and Ricky Churchill headed up the Kemistry team who worked on the project.
The new channel identity was developed by Brand42, also based in London, through its creative director Adge Gittins. Brand42’s logo concept runs through all on screen branding elements and is now being extended to other delivery platforms and off-air communications.
Brand42 worked with London design and production company CC-Lab on motion graphic design for new channel idents and opening title sequences. After Effects animations were produced in house at CC-Lab, with Adge Gittins as creative director, Jason Hocking as producer and Rob Jones as lead designer.
CNN International’s in-house creative team, led by assistant creative director Hillary Kilfeather, designed new weather graphics, created a new look for the channel’s World Sport show and devised a new treatment for the channel’s signature timelapse idents.
Working with CNN International throughout the process has been London based creative consultant Frank Lampen. Formerly part of the launch team at E4, he has recently worked on projects with Nike, Smirnoff and J&B as well as being an independent producer.
Music has been written by Atlanta based composer Herb Avery, who has worked with CNN for a number of years, and is credited with much of the music that is currently to be heard on the channel.
