To reignite public love for Channel 4 and reconfirm its role as a flag bearer for creativity in Britain, we were tasked with creating a new set of idents that reflect our brand positioning of ‘Altogether Different’. Working with 17 diverse artists and filmmakers, we created a striking portrait of modern Britain, where 25 wholly different and distinct worlds exist harmoniously together in an infinite loop, with our iconic logo central to the action. Purposefully contrasting live action, animation, CG and many visual elements (scale, texture, tone, colour, light etc), the idents were combined for this launch film and accompanied

Channel 4 is the UK’s alternative public service broadcaster. As a not-for-profit organisation owned by the public, Channel 4 exists to challenge the status quo, champion unheard voices and take bold creative risks.

Channel 4’s brand line ‘Altogether Different’, reflects the broadcaster's point of view that difference is not the divisive force today’s culture wars have led us to believe. Channel 4 believes difference is a good thing – ultimately a uniting force that sparks debate and creates progress – and that even the most contrasting ideas and opinions can exist side by side.

This whole piece is distinctly and intentionally British, both nostalgic and modern. The worlds depicted reflect imagery deeply familiar in British culture, such as an urban fox in a disused public telephone box, a school leaving day where all the excited leavers sign each other’s shirts, or a frozen tableau of revellers at the end of a classic British high street saturday night out. They also portray less mainstream parts of our culture, such as a ceremony for the UK’s smallest registered religion, Zoroastrianism, or a spiritual gathering in an ancient forest.

The words that accompany the piece are equally as specific to British culture, from calling out anything from old football rivalries “Blackburn, Burnley”, to famous news anchors “Guru-Murthy”, as well as turns of phrase you might find on seaside souvenirs “I’d rather be beside the sea” or the initials of our four countries “the N-I-R, E-N-G, W-A-L, S-C-O-T” (Northern Island, England, Wales, Scotland).

The film is a visual representation of Altogether Different. Set within an infinite loop,the iconic 4 logo sits centrally and endlessly turns into itself, presenting a new scene or world around it with each revolution. It is almost entirely the case that two contrasting scenes are on screen at any one time. Each of these different and distinct worlds link seamlessly together to become a tapestry of modern Britain – from the brutal, crashing waves of the North Sea, to an urban fox in a disused telephone box; from Saturday night revellers frozen in time, to a riot in the streets with the 4 logo ablaze. Reflecting the themes of Identity, the Land, System, Release and Love and employing live action, animation and full CG, and contrasting many elements (scale, tone, colour, light etc), the result is a hugely ambitious visualisation of Channel 4’s brand platform, ‘Altogether Different’.

Channel 4 is the U.K’s alternative public service broadcaster. In an ever-expanding world of broadcasters and streamers, our brand love and recognition is critical. This had declined in recent years as our on-screen branding consisted of a deconstructed version of our logo, and didn’t align with our current brand positioning of ‘Altogether Different’.

We embarked on a major rebrand, pulling together our linear and streaming offering under one Channel 4 masterbrand. Within this, our idents are the jewel in our brand crown, seen 40+ times a year by 80% of the UK population.

We were therefore tasked with creating new idents for the TV channel (and its online service), that put the iconic ‘4’ back at the heart of the visuals and connected it to the spirit of ‘Altogether Different’ – a positioning that celebrates the diverse, inclusive, and alternative nature of the U.K.

In addition to the impact of the launch film (which aired in full on TV and online), the Channel 4 idents appear in every ad break between programmes. They are one of our highest frequency touchpoints, so it’s vital viewers find them appealing as they will be on the Channel for years.

While it is too early to see the long term positive impact on brand recognition scores, Social Listening since launch demonstrates the new idents have been received extremely well by the UK public. The full launch film has been viewed 100,000 times on YouTube since launch and comments are almost 100% positive. “This is an amazing reflection on the diversity of the British Isles and if I have to say, probably one of the best televisual identities so far in this decade.“I absolutely love this new ident package. It’s modern, but familiar, and I think it’s great.

This piece of work was designed to reflect and celebrate the diverse communities, cultures and ideas within the UK. It pulls from a vast range of reference points, be they nostalgic British past times, such as a seaside day trip, or more modern icons of our cities, such as urban foxes. More nuanced commentaries on the British class system, or on social unrest are also woven through.

Created by a team from across the UK, and working with 17 different artists and filmmakers who all had different experiences of the UK (from being born here, having moved here from abroad, or having grown up here and since moved elsewhere), the film is a complex and detailed portrayal of a complex island/s. It was designed so that everyone in Britain could recognise themselves or their world somewhere within its unique and contrasting 25 loops.

Designed to reflect both light and shade