DICK CLARK PRODUCTIONS REBRANDING
UPDATE DCP'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL DESIGN
Redesigning and rebranding Dick Clark Production's YouTube channel came during an assignment as Video Operations Assistant on the Academy of Country Music Awards (ACMs). They asked for a uniform look and thumbnails needed to be created specific to the different shows: American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards, The Golden Globes, etc. The DCP branding was to be sharp, professional, modern, and in grayscale.
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Assets delivered:
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2 Photoshop workfiles for thumbnails and banners/badges
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103 Thumbnails
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1 Banner image
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1 Profile image
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1 Video watermark image
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23 banner + profile badge drafts
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FINAL DELIVERABLES
BANNER IMAGE
After several iterations (see below) this image was brightened to allow more details to show. The composition is arranged in regards to the different crops that people will see on their varying devices. Textures and lighting were subtle in order to allow the logo to pop. We felt organic shapes felt more modern and creative, while the subtle texture and lighting retained a professional sophisticated look.
PROFILE IMAGE
After a few iterations this design was kept simple and subtle. With Youtube's circular crop the gradient allows for hint form and texture, but does not draw attention from the logo.
THUMBNAIL IMAGES
It was decided to format thumbnails with a bar along the side that would display the logos on the side. These were to be added on videos that were visible on the landing page.
DRAFTS
The following are contact sheets of options presented to the manager. The channels for DCP's sister companies, Billboard and THR, were given as reference materials.
BANNER IMAGE DRAFTS
Here are few of the options delivered. The THR banner was emulated the most. Monochromatic with geometric layers. The variations are in textures, shapes, and logos while always considering the device-cropping guidelines. Once I'm finished with designs that are to spec, I often like to throw in a design for contrast that may lay outside the specs. Here I added a hint of color.
PROFILE IMAGE DRAFTS
After Youtube's circular crop was implemented these logos looked to close to a tennis ball, or the Pepsi logo. To keep the image cohesive the textures where used instead of the organic designs that you see here.
THUMBNAIL DRAFTS
Contact sheets were provided showing the reference materials that were researched as well as treatments observing those references. From these examples it was decided to use an opaque banner on the left hand side, but instead of gold it needed to be black. The logo image for each show would then be displayed upright along that black strip, which also made the banner thicker in order for the logos to be legible.
LOGO REBRAND DEVELOPMENT
DCP was undergoing a rebrand in 2022. On Sept 13th the following preliminary logo treatments were produced and delivered to the head of the marketing department. It was communicated to me that they had signed on Sept 12th with an agency to develop a logo and asked if they could share my designs with the team.
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This link is the presentation that was delivered. It outlines DCP's past designs, competitor's logos, and provides mock-ups of real-world applications followed by the designs themselves.
DESIGN COMPARISON
PRELIMINARY DESIGN
FINAL DESIGN BY AGENCY
LOGO HISTORY
Research was done on the logo and it's iterations throughout the years. This was in order to understand if it's there was a common thread in evolution or inspirations on where it is naturally leading.
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There is a tendancy to move from a humanist font into the more modern approach. There are also differences in kerning. As the iterations develop they seem to be moving further away from each other.
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Realizing details such as these presents a starting point as to where one might continue or contrast these precedents.
COMPETITORS
Knowing the context and environment that these brands live in is also important in informing design.
Investigating companies that may be direct or indirect competitors can demonstrate a certain look to an industry. Once these are realized these standards can be played in contrast or as an aesthetic guide. Knowing what the landscape looks like, how can this logo stand out and compete? How will it unmistakably represent "Dick Clark Productions" at a glance?
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
SKETCHES
Begin simple. Deconstruct. Reconnect. Reassociate. Reconstruct.
Having researched the history and context of the DCP logo I began discovering approaches of composing these letters and forms. Some retain characteristics of the past designs and other diverge in contrast to them. In each there are examinations of how the letters are constructed in order to find new ways of associating form to letters, and letters to the brand.
PRELIMINARY DESIGNS
The following are a few examples that were presented. These each have a tie into the past logos. The letter forms were kept in a modern style from the 1970s on, while some of arrangements are quotes from each tiem period.
Lastly, there is a logo treatment that is in contrast to almost each aesthetic that was provided from the past. A futuristic look. The letterforms were broken down into basic shapes. In the sketches above you can see how the break down occurred. Using all caps. Forms are simply gestures. The bowl of each letter represented by a single line united each shape. These types of departures serve as a creative exercise in which may open the door to a new perspective on the representation of the brand.
MOCK UPS
Like it was with history, context is extremely impactful.
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How does the design live in the actual real-world space? How will it read on large or small formats? When set against certain backdrops designs can take another meaning or aesthetic. Certain aspects can be enhanced more than others depending on placement, texture, size, lighting, etc.
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Since these were new designs it was important to get them conceptual to practice to see how they read in real-world setting. In order to enhance this effect pictures of the actual DCP lobby were taken. In order to simply focus on form and setting, colors were left out and the letters were given a metallic texture within Photoshop. Lighting was also matched with the program.
