BBC Idents

 BBC Idents

The BBC television service started creating ideas about showcasing identities of their channels, to push viewership. A few months in BBC when they just initiated their television service, they encountered a problem and this problem was that they did not have a way of alerting potential viewers of what is about to transmit. They did not have know what to put right after the current programme ended and right before another starts. The audience also did not know that it was BBC that was the television service. An idea was then created randomly, that they would have a programme slide to identify both the next programme that is about to play as well as the television service's name at the time, which was BBC. BBC was the only television service at the time which was why it became a problem for them with their network identity and method of transmission. After this they have discovered a way to portray channel name as well as the next show.

This was the first initial design of the transmission card between programmes. It was made using a large paper and paint. The person in charge of creating this was Engineer William Paffard.

Although this transmission does not mention or show the actual values of the organisation, it had a purpose to inform the audience, as well be a transmission that would help benefit the picturing.

When Television was introduced to the UK, it was at a time when there was no TV graphic designers. However after competitors entered this category and the Television area, the television company BBC realised they would need an identity, to show the difference between them and another competition like ITV.

BBC then commissioned a man called Abram Games, to develop and produce a logo or symbol for them to use on air.

This new television symbol was recognised as the "bat's wings", and the junction programme of it was set up in 1956

 In 1960 BBC wanted to show the their nation and audience that they were a modern organisation, and changes along with time. To do this they decided to re-brand themselves from "BBC Television Service" to "BBC tv". The purpose of this was to show that BBC was a corporation that was well placed to serve the UK and other nations as ITV. 

Within this re-branding, the logo covers a few regions with in the UK, trying to portray that they serve the nation of the UK. However after sometime, BBC intended to cover the whole globe showing that they will serve other countries and nations as well.

Within this logo, it shows a spinning logo, showing that they wanted to cover a much large region than just within the UK.

On November 1969, BBC 1 went to colour. They did this through the use of a mechanical device. This became popular with the name as the "mirror globe".

This was the mechanical device used to create the mirror globe. In the device is a globe that has a wider more stretched looking world behind it. This is done through the use of a concave mirror, which gives it, it's stretch. The colour given to it, was done electronically.

This is the end result of the logo, which shows it to be animated. 

Around January 1974, BBC have discussed to create a computerised network symbol. It progressed slowly. A decision was made that BBC-2 was to go completely electronic, including music and visuals, whereas BBC-1 was to remain mostly the same since the idea was already good. 

It took up until 1985 for them to even have enough computing power for an electronic globe device.

This logo contained gold and blue combinations of colours. It became known as the "Computer Originated World", and later changed to its known name as the "COW Globe".

By the 1990s, the television identity idea has developed to a point where market could be created in its field. Martin Lambie-Nairin became the first designer to set up a specific or custom design service for television. Because of this, it included a new redesign for all of BBC's channel identities both nation and local networks. For BBC One, a new animated logo was created for network announcements. The reaction to it by the audience was mostly positive. It showed a globe spinning off at a fast pace, with different continents coming into view, and it became the most advanced globe and was done through the use of a Sony laser disc based system.

In 1997, a new BBC brand was made, Within this new introduction they have replaced many of the various logos and styles that have existed in the different BBC blocks. They have all now been replaced by a single brand logo. BBC1 rebranded to BBC One as well as new sets of idents were launched.

BBC then brought their Globe into the real world, by printing a globe onto a hot air balloon, and filming it flying around locations within the UK. The balloon could be seen floating above locations where normally balloon aren't really seen. It could be seen from underwater, this ident was created to introduce Blue Planet, as well as another ident seeing the hot air balloon float across prehistoric landscapes, which was an ident made to introduce Walking with Dinosaurs.