Discovery Channel Logo

[SDX]

New update and i must say i really like it. MOdernised the old one whilst still keeping a link with the old one, certainly miles better than the Animal planet logo.

With Animal Planet, the Science Channel, and TLC all looking like distant cousins of its parent company, and namesake channel, it was only an eager matter of time before the Discovery Channel would upgrade its tired identity. While not publicly available yet, the logo was unveiled at Discovery's upfront presentation the last Monday of March in Chicago, as The New York Times reports, where they also showed a TV ad boasting its new tagline and theme, "The world is just awesome."

The campaign is being developed by 72 and Sunny (whose work is as cheerful as its temperature) and the identity was designed by Boston- and L.A.-based Viewpoint Creative. From another news brief:

Discovery turned to Boston-based Viewpoint Creative to develop a revitalized brand mark that would continue to leverage the equity of its signature "globe" icon. By linking the globe into the "D" of Discovery, Viewpoint fused the world and brand. The stylized earth, contemporary color palette and fresh typography all combine to bring the mark more in line with Discovery as the international communications company it is today, the network said.

The mark can also separate out the "D-globe" as a single entity, in order to create a unique and dynamic icon. This icon can be used as a shorthand "identifier" in the future.

(You can see the "D-globe" here). The new logo feels decidedly more contemporary, but I'm guessing that anything would feel so as long as that old typeface was not used. The new typography is, well, interesting. The overall spacing of the word is well resolved, it feels tight and cohesive, but when you start looking at the details, the thing starts to fall apart. The "co" pair definitely starts to look like a double-o, giving the channel a hilarious new name of "Disoovery" ? c'mon, say it, "Disoooooovery" ? and the "ry" renders a very gangly "r". Despite these oddities I do think it works as a whole. However, the omission of dot of the "i", even for the sake of continuity from the old logo, is slightly ridiculous ? it's simply wrong. The globe, which I am assuming was a "Don't touch this or we will kill you" clause in the design brief is respectably well integrated: It's almost the same size as the "o", it's not too intrusive, and it's actually a pretty rendering of our humble abode. Perhaps my favorite part of the logo is the generously letterspaced "C H A N N E L" at the bottom. All in all, I do feel this is a successful identity; it's not as awesome as the world it showcases and advertises, but it will do.

[andrewharrington]

I saw this today, as well. Gotham keeps a firm grasp around the World Title of Popular Typefaces.

[fiasco!]

The transition from the "c" to the "o" and the "r" to the "y" are just beautiful. Very well done, in my opinion.

[josh_cat_eyes]

Beautiful, just plain beautiful. The old one wasn't really outdated but it was "new" either. Great update!

[-kj]

It's nice, but I feel like it's all been done before.

[eRay]

out of the things that were talked about in the first post as problems ('co', 'ry', undotted 'i') i saw only the lopped off 'r' as a problem, the undotted "i" ties in with their old identity, and i thought the 'co' was one of the best parts of the overall look. i am torn about where the globe sits on the 'D'. i like the idea, and i agree that centered on the stem of the 'D' is predictable and tired, but does it need to be where it is? i know it reaches up to just the x-height, and thats fine, but i think they could have made it smaller or bigger...something. still a very good update.

[josh_cat_eyes]

I just thought of something for this logo. What if they put the globe where the O is in place of it. Would that work?

[SDX]

out of the things that were talked about in the first post as problems ('co', 'ry', undotted 'i') i saw only the lopped off 'r' as a problem, the undotted "i" ties in with their old identity, and i thought the 'co' was one of the best parts of the overall look. i am torn about where the globe sits on the 'D'. i like the idea, and i agree that centered on the stem of the 'D' is predictable and tired, but does it need to be where it is? i know it reaches up to just the x-height, and thats fine, but i think they could have made it smaller or bigger...something. still a very good update.

I think the D and globe (as seen in the link below) on there own will look well on the top of the screen.

http://www.viewpointcreative.com/images/im...very_logo02.jpg

[andrewharrington]

The transition from the "c" to the "o" and the "r" to the "y" are just beautiful. Very well done, in my opinion.

Funny, on UnderConsideration.com, the reviewer cited those two letter pairs as the only 'problem areas' in the piece. He stated that the closeness of the c-o made it look like o-o, which I didn't agree with, but I think he was on to something with the r-y. I, for one, think there is a smidgen too much room between the r and y, compared with the amount of space between the other letterforms. Maybe joining the arm of the r to the y could resolve it? Otherwise, I love it. The reviewer also had problems with the placement of the Earth. I say, where else do you put it? The Earth as the o? Can't get much more unoriginal than that. I like it where it is. No longer randomly placed near the center of the logo, but astutely sitting off toward the beginning of the name, demanding attention and starting your eye on the reading path. Pretty good, and much needed.

By the way, there was a little debate about the Science Channel logo in a thread here a while ago, and I recently found out that the excellent new periodic table-themed logo was designed in-house by Science Channel staff, not by a professional design firm. Mad Props. Always love to see great in-house design work.

[BBTV]

Does it bother anyone that these are lowercase letters, but the "i" doesn't have the little dot over it?

[MikeJones]

Does it bother anyone that these are lowercase letters, but the "i" doesn't have the little dot over it?

they didn't have it on the old logo either

[andrewharrington]

Does it bother anyone that these are lowercase letters, but the "i" doesn't have the little dot over it?

It bothered the reviewer on UnderConsideration.com, but it doesn't bother me. It's a unique way to streamline and add a little quirkiness to the word. In addition, the old logo had no dot, either. Nobody seems to care when someone omits the crossbar of a capital A or the vertical stroke of a capital E for stylistic reasons, but more than one person has specifically pointed out the omission of the dot on the iand had a negative reaction to it. I find that interesting.

[DelayedPenalty]

Any idea when the change is taking place full time? I'm on discovery right now and it's still the old logo...

Update is gorgeous! Very well done! Much better than that Animal Planet sideways M bologna

[LEWJ]

Niiice.

I like it. That "Aurora Bold Condensed" font is/was gettin really old.

It use to be a nice, modern font, but it's quickly going outta style.

New font is nice, clean, and effective.

It seems that really simple fonts are working out very well for companies, identities, and brands....Or campaign signs [cough]Obama[/cough]

[BBTV]

Does it bother anyone that these are lowercase letters, but the "i" doesn't have the little dot over it?

It bothered the reviewer on UnderConsideration.com, but it doesn't bother me. It's a unique way to streamline and add a little quirkiness to the word. In addition, the old logo had no dot, either. Nobody seems to care when someone omits the crossbar of a capital A or the vertical stroke of a capital E for stylistic reasons, but more than one person has specifically pointed out the omission of the dot on the iand had a negative reaction to it. I find that interesting.

Allow me to clarify.

All things being equal, I have no problem with the dot being ommitted.

However, in this case, look at the first six letters of the word: Discov. Without the context that the dot creates on the "i" (explicitly making it lowercase), the other letters could appear to be upper case, and clash with the "ery" at the end.

In fact, when I first glanced at the logo, I thought it was one of those things where they used capital letters but lowercase "e"s, until I noticed the "ry".

Hope that made sense.

[fiasco!]

Does it bother anyone that these are lowercase letters, but the "i" doesn't have the little dot over it?

It bothered the reviewer on UnderConsideration.com, but it doesn't bother me. It's a unique way to streamline and add a little quirkiness to the word. In addition, the old logo had no dot, either. Nobody seems to care when someone omits the crossbar of a capital A or the vertical stroke of a capital E for stylistic reasons, but more than one person has specifically pointed out the omission of the dot on the iand had a negative reaction to it. I find that interesting.

If Armin was the reviewer, it makes sense. He's a blowhard who's :censored: doesn't stink.

[capn89]

Does it bother anyone that these are lowercase letters, but the "i" doesn't have the little dot over it?

It bothers me that in some fonts the capitail "I" and lower case "l" (L) look the same. The lack of the dot over the lower case doesn't bother me, however.

IIIIIIlllllllIIllllIIIIllllIIIIlllIlllIII

^^^^^ WHICH is ****ing WHICH!!!!???? Damn you Arial! Damn you to hell!

... I LOVE YOU WHORES!

[andrewharrington]

Does it bother anyone that these are lowercase letters, but the "i" doesn't have the little dot over it?

It bothers me that in some fonts the capitail "I" and lower case "l" (L) look the same. The lack of the dot over the lower case doesn't bother me, however.

IIIIIIlllllllIIllllIIIIllllIIIIlllIlllIII

^^^^^ WHICH is ****ing WHICH!!!!???? Damn you Arial! Damn you to hell!

... I LOVE YOU WHORES!

The capital Is are a little bit heavier than the lowercase ls. Zoom in and you'll se the diff. In most good fonts, the lowercase ls are a slight bit taller than the cap-height.

[andrewharrington]

Does it bother anyone that these are lowercase letters, but the "i" doesn't have the little dot over it?

It bothered the reviewer on UnderConsideration.com, but it doesn't bother me. It's a unique way to streamline and add a little quirkiness to the word. In addition, the old logo had no dot, either. Nobody seems to care when someone omits the crossbar of a capital A or the vertical stroke of a capital E for stylistic reasons, but more than one person has specifically pointed out the omission of the dot on the iand had a negative reaction to it. I find that interesting.

If Armin was the reviewer, it makes sense. He's a blowhard who's :censored: doesn't stink.

No doubt about that. If you really think that says Disoovery Channel, as Armin insists, you're obviously blind.

[averyj]

I just thought of something for this logo. What if they put the globe where the O is in place of it. Would that work?

No.

Disgusting, tacky, and cliche.