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Guest Editorial by Guilherme Machiavelli
In 1965, soon after the military coup d’état in Brazil, a media conglomerate was founded and, in the following years, experienced an spectacular growth. This conglomerate, called Rede Globo or, more simply, Globo, became the most influential broadcasting network in Brazil (and, one could argue, in Latin America). (More on Wikipedia). Its socio-cultural importance has been commented often not only inside the country and the continent, but even in other parts of the world, such as England, with BBC’s highly polemical “Beyond Citizen Kane”, a documentary that even now, 15 years after its first british transmission, has not been officially exhibited in Brazil, due to pressure made by the brazilian corporation itself.
Since its inception, Globo’s identity has passed through various transformations, which, curiously, seem to have become increasingly minimal — the last four logos had a few subtle changes, always attempting to keep up with the latest trends, without making any real improvement. The designer behind this brand is the Austrian Hans Donner, the same responsible for great part of the opening and closing credits and logos of shows produced in Rede Globo in the last 20 years. The globe-inside-a-square-inside-another-globe is now a fairly ubiquitous symbol in Brazil, being instantly recognizable by anyone who has lived in the country even for a short while.
Evolution of the Rede Globo logo.
With that in mind, the new logo actually does a good job in simplifying the (in the lack of better word) intricate combination of metallic glows and gradients that have, for good or bad, become the key elements in Globo’s identity. The ratio of the “window” has also change to reflect the more common widescreen television sets sold now. The execution seems to be a little more subtle and well-made than the previous symbol, diminishing its confusing pattern of colors inside the metallic globe, while it focuses on the RGB colors — adding a new and less distracting texture. The light is slightly more well balanced too, without the blinding glow in the upper left from the previous iteration. Conceptually, I found myself almost liking this logo, but it still seems overly complicated. The idea of a globe showing itself inside another globe with a TV frame feels like a good way of representing a media conglomerate so focused in television, but my real grudge stays in the various glows, gradients and metallic shines that permeate the whole composition.
But, this rebranding feels to me as the exact reproduction of the way Globo has been doing its business for a long time: Always staying on the safe side, changing practically nothing since the eighties, only with the eventual varnish to keep with a “modern look and feel”. One can see this through the evolution of the brand, of course, but in other aspects as well: The prime-time schedule of the broadcasting company has not changed in all those years. With a combo of three soap-operas and one news program, Globo has maintained its status as audience champion for quite some time. With that will to maintain its own status quo, one might ask exactly how Globo will fare against Rede Record, its newest and most strong rival nowadays.
Guilherme Machiavelli is a designer/journalist/student in Brazil who works mainly with editorial and web design, along with the eventual branding project.
Thanks to Marcio Caparica for the tip.
Jump to Most Recent Comment
Nick’s comment is:
That logo is Intense! its like the old logo went through the web 2.0 upgrade (sometimes downgrade)...cant say I dont like it though...I am just glad it doesnt have that lame (really lame) reflective surface below it
all and all nice work
On Jul.24.2008 at 09:17 AM
Lank Thompson’s comment is:
CBS ripoff??
On Jul.24.2008 at 09:43 AM
Harris’s comment is:
They could have just gone with a black and white representation of the logo, and used their old one as the fancy one that shows up in ads. The new one does not make visual sense to me. The gradients do not look realistic, and the shape is more awkward. It is a bit clearer, but simplifying to a b&w version would have fixed everything.
On Jul.24.2008 at 09:43 AM
damon’s comment is:
looks like the logo for a gay pinball league.
On Jul.24.2008 at 10:02 AM
plamen’s comment is:
Looks better, though the change would remain unnoticed to most viewers.
Just like recent RTL update:
darrel’s comment is:
It's like CBS circa 2110!
It would be easy to say this is another silly 3D-ification but it seems that they've been way ahead of the curve on that and have retained the equity of the mark for some 20+ years.
Fun video.
On Jul.24.2008 at 10:19 AM
Sebhelyesfarku’s comment is:
Wow what a collection of cheap ass 3D raytracing crap with neon colors and shiny metal objects... Like demos in the 80s.
On Jul.24.2008 at 10:19 AM
stock_illustration’s comment is:
...but how does it fax?
On Jul.24.2008 at 10:33 AM
Armin’s comment is:
Better than how it embroiders.
On Jul.24.2008 at 10:40 AM
Nate’s comment is:
Wtf is expectacular?
On Jul.24.2008 at 10:48 AM
Armin’s comment is:
Nate, with a little imagination and less obnoxiousness you could deduce it's "spectacular". I missed it in editing. Keep in mind English is Guilherme's second language before you wtf away.
On Jul.24.2008 at 11:02 AM
John’s comment is:
Great article, very good write-up. I actually kind of like it too, though it seems kind of ominous, like it's watching me, not the other way around.
On Jul.24.2008 at 11:32 AM
Peter Whitley’s comment is:
(In the spirit of defense of [u]idea over detail[/u] I have opted for my own "second language" style. Consider this written in pencil...a thumbnail idea.)
The revision is interestable for a different reason. Attempt some day to design a logo that removes as much character and attitude from the client, doesn't not offensify any individual, but that can be known from a great distance away. Furthermore the mark that you design would be doing things of interest as it zooms about the place. And I believe this corporation should be owning chrome. Perhaps that was intendified.
On Jul.24.2008 at 11:32 AM
Matthew J’s comment is:
I personally would have gone for something like this:
I actually think their 1975 logo looks a lot fresher and better than all subsequent ones.
On Jul.24.2008 at 11:34 AM
Nate’s comment is:
I think it's a credit to Guilherme that I've never noticed that English isn't his native language.
That said, I don't think it's unreasonable to question a spelling that an English spell checker would find. I thought it was intentional.
On Jul.24.2008 at 11:47 AM
guilherme machiavelli’s comment is:
hey guys. Sorry for the misspelling. Strangely, even now my english spell checker hasn't identified the error, though a quick look at the dictionary would have made it.
And I'm with Matthew: the 1975 logo seems a lot fresher. I couldn't find exactly when Hans Donner started working for Globo, but I'd guess he has a lot to blame on the whole "metallic glow" thing, considering that's a constant in pretty much all his work.
Greg’s comment is:
Good writeup Guilherme. By the way, Beyond Citizen Kane is up on Google Video.
And as far as this being a CBS ripoff, another brazilian network called Bandeirantes does a better job at that:
Cheers,
Greg
Anonymous’s comment is:
"coup d'etat in Brazil"??? In Brazil its 'Golpe de Estado', Portuguese! Not that in french!
On Jul.24.2008 at 01:56 PM
darrel’s comment is:
"Wtf is expectacular?"
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=expectacular
On Jul.24.2008 at 02:01 PM
Daniel Campos’s comment is:
I hated this channel! It's "trendful" and liar!!
On Jul.24.2008 at 02:23 PM
Nino’s comment is:
Like something off a 90s rock album cover. A bit Journey? I do like the concept of it though.
Guilherme, what a fantastic second name you have!
On Jul.24.2008 at 02:41 PM
rich’s comment is:
A sad evolution from what used to be a mark (though still weak in distinction) to an even worse vague pictorial rendering...
note: the subtle tedious revisions made throughout the 90's till now is a perfect example of why cheap photoshop tricks don't work well for logos... they become dated before you even have a chance to update all the collateral.
keith’s comment is:
This new logo stinks of Mac.
On Jul.24.2008 at 03:18 PM
darrel’s comment is:
Char’s comment is:
wow!
how incredible xenophobic that comment from Nate.
Great article, Armin.
rickyaustin’s comment is:
It looks as though their mark is updated everytime Adobe comes out with a better 'shiny' filter.
I dunno what to say about it... it just looks like something that should sit in the middle of a round room in Willy Wonka's factory.
On Jul.24.2008 at 05:45 PM
XK9’s comment is:
Shiny? Good! Balls? Good! Shiny Balls? Great!
Donner was a genius in his day. His work was so utterly over the top that it made your eyeballs hurt. He defined the look of Brazilian TV. I was exposed to it back in the 80s though the BDA, an international cabal of broadcast designers. In a less connected world, the personality of national styles of stations like Rede Globo and NOB of Holland was a beautiful contrast. Now these styles seem to be less culturally distinct.
On Jul.24.2008 at 08:47 PM
David Sanchez’s comment is:
@Lank Thompson, I think you should travel more. Really. CBS ripoff?? - that's a "declass".
Rede Globo is an iconic brand, and is culture in Brazil.
On Jul.25.2008 at 11:45 AM
João Gomes’s comment is:
@Char: "how incredible xenophobic that comment from Nate." Xenophobic, are you nuts? That reads more like a compliment to me. A damage-control compliment to cover up for the "spelling-nazi" obnoxiousness, yes, but a compliment nonetheless.
Case in point: I'm portuguese, yet all the foreigners whom I speak to don't really believe me when I tell them I'm not a native english speaker... I know I feel flattered when I'm told my english is above average, instead of feeling offended by thinking that those said foreigners are in any way insinuating that most other portuguese folks are bad with languages (which is obviously not true, as I know may more people who can communicate just as efficiently in english, let alone other languages).
Are you catching my drift? It's just a matter of perspective, and whether you have an inferiority complex and are always expecting to be somehow insulted by someone, or are perfectly sure about your abilities as well as your peers' and take compliments for what they really are (I'm just saying this because it seems as if you feel that was directed to you and you totally missed the point :P )...
[ E já que aqui estou, parabéns pelo seu inglês, Guilherme, é óptimo. Apesar de espectacular também se escrever com S em português, ehe ;) ]
@Nate, that's the difference between being obnoxious and being nice about spelling errors. You just point them, make a joke or some other comment, put a winking smiley and all is well and good (I just said to Gulherme that "spectacular" is also spelled with an S in portuguese, btw).
On Jul.25.2008 at 01:01 PM
João Gomes’s comment is:
By the way, guys, I find it curious and on topic that Donner also worked for SIC, a portuguese network, in the 90's, and extensively reused his work in an act of conscious self-plagiarism (maybe even endorsed by Rede Globo, as they supposedly have a stake in SIC). Check it out on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8-kHp9bx_8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBvaz2vXto4
PP’s comment is:
The rumor is that he did the SIC logo when flying from Brazil to Portugal. As João Gomes said, he reused/reworked early 80s stuff from Globo and applied them to SIC, which aired for the first time in 1992.
He started working for Globo in mid 70s, unveiling the station's new logo, created in partnership with Rudolf Bohn, in February 76. He stated in several interviews that, when he arrived to Brazil, he was considered a "genius" and "design wizard", mainly because he was a foreigner. Which opened a lot of doors and helped his career.
With few exceptions, I think he's opening sequences (including graphics) for telenovelas are either tacky, boring or totally outdated.
One of his last projects (for Vista OS) it's a digital gadget called Timension: http://www.timension.com.br/
On Jul.25.2008 at 03:12 PM
Matheus’s comment is:
bad brand
too much color
too much web 2.0
Tim Whalen’s comment is:
Considering it's a graphic with a main application being for TV, it's not a bad thing that they tweak it every now and again to maintain its freshness. I don't feel it's a matter of it being too "web 2.0"... they've had this look (albeit from varied light sources) since before web 0.0! And, as far as how it faxes, I'm not sure but I don't think you typically fax a TV screen to somebody... correct me if I'm wrong.
This iteration of the mark refines the reflective characteristics of the spheres in a clean, effective way. I find no problems with it. I'm not sure where they could go from here, though, without damaging the progress they've made up to this point.
On Aug.06.2008 at 02:02 PM
Mark’s comment is:
well it doesn't look horrible, nice clear rainbow colors, it isn't groundbreaking either.
Some points I couldn't help but think of that 80's Nickelodeon pinball logo with the "Nick, Nick Nickelodeon", oh and kudos for them using those early Terminator-esque liquid computer effects, it seems that metallic balls (that's not an in-joke) and rainbows were a big thing in the 70's and 80's .
overall pretty good evolution of the logo.
Josh Smith’s comment is:
DISAGREE - Must say this is one rare case where I strongly disagree. As you mentioned the original logo, despite its seeming complexity has stood the test of time. The new version seems like a cheap copy made to look like the zillions of web buttons with this exact reflection pattern. At least the old one had a bit of originality in its texture -- i guess it's fitting since it is an original logo. Probably some inspiration for modern trends of shiny, metal round things. Now it has been made to look like the many copycats of a mac/web-button fad that just passed.
On Aug.14.2008 at 03:45 PM
J’s comment is:
This reminds me of The Disney Channel logo in the 80s. It had the three circle Mickey head on top of a TV-shaped rectangle with rounded corners--very similar to the rounded box and circle that's within Globo's larger circle. Disney often played with the logo in their TV bumpers between shows, yet they consistently used a rainbow version in marketing, especially in print/press ads. It's interesting that Globo picked up on the rainbow stripes in 1988 when Disney would have been using the rainbow logo quite frequently. That said, rainbows were quite popular at the time, probably most notably with Apple Computer. Here's a link to a rainbow Disney Channel TV bumper.
On Aug.18.2008 at 03:11 PM
Brian’s comment is:
Whether you think the logo is good or bad, let there be no mistake that Globo is one of Brazil’s most visible brands. Not just a TV channel, but a bona fide media mind controller for EVERYONE in Brazil—rich, poor, white, black, etc.
First off, I think it was wise to keep the mark similar to the current “globe-TV screen-Globe” first seen in the mid-1970s. Sure, it’s a literal translation of their modus operandi, but it works. Actually, I’ve always questioned the need for the outer globe. Why isn’t “everything in the globe, on your TV” good enough?
I think it’s interesting that the logo finally got some color in 1988. What I’m guessing is this is around the time when the majority of the population had replaced their black and white sets with color TVs. I’m also curious about how the rainbow gradient from the 1988 iteration has red on top (red has the longest wavelength, which is why we see the setting sun as red/orange). In my own opinion, I think the switch just “looks better,” perhaps a little less aggressive with red being so prominent on top.
Anytime I see a rainbow in a logo, I think of the Gay Pride flag, but Globo’s colors have been a nice representation of the RGB, “color TV” thing and I would even suggest it’s a slight metaphor for the makeup of Brazil’s population—literally because of the diverse skin tones of the population, but also the diverse cultural backgrounds (African, European, and indigenous peoples). By the way, the Burle Marx designed the famous sidewalks of Copacabana using white, black, and red as a direct metaphor for the multicultural makeup of the country as well.
At any rate, since 1993, it appears as if the mark has more or less remained the same, minus the tweaks to the shininess or reflection of the globe itself. With this latest version, it definitely looks like the world of Web 2.0 has had some influence. It might be looked upon as “bad” though in my mind is welcomed from it’s simplicity of all the shininess.
One of the things that bothers me the most about the new logo is the wider aspect ratio of the TV screen. While it reminds me of the introduction of the colorful rainbow thing around the time people started buying color TV sets, graphically it doesn’t seem as balanced as previous versions. Sure, I love an HD vs. SD aspect ratio, but are they going too far with literally translating ideas?
Overall, I love interacting with this logo. On the surface, it’s friendly—says what it does, does what it says. There’s a lot of strong communication going on, which I think speaks to all of us here nit-picking everything, but also works well for the people in Brazil who just want to watch the latest soap opera or nightly news.
On Aug.27.2008 at 03:10 PM
Beefgun’s comment is:
I like my logos like I like my musicians, futuristic and rainbow colored.
Mr Posen’s comment is:
That logo is sex! I love it.
On Sep.19.2008 at 07:04 PM
Alex’s comment is:
Regardless of good taste or not (it's up to each one) what everybody is missing is the point of looking today all the Globo logos, updates and color animations that Hans Donner produced were started and made when Mac OS didn't exist, Macintosh was just a dream at Steve Jobs mind and Adobe was not even thinking of launching a software called Photoshop. All personal computers were running MS-DOS and he came from Europe, convinced Rede Globo owner at the time (Roberto Marinho / Citizen Kane) to invest millions of dollars in Silicon Graphics work stations, and then created this 3D visual style that, in fact, is known by everybody in the world (broadcast designers) by being pioneer and ahead of its time. Even nowadays people suffer to render 30 seconds (24 frames/sec) in After Effects and he used to make it almost 30 years ago!!!! So, we can critize the fact that Rede Globo didn't change its visual identity in the last 30 years, but there's no point to compare Hans Donner work with work done by Photoshoppers in the 90's and 2000's.
On Nov.01.2008 at 01:08 PM
Gabriel Felix ’s comment is:
Agree, but i don't like the style. I think this style was increased on your culture and make a sense for millions of brasilians. Just work, good or not.
On Jun.17.2009 at 05:37 PM
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