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The Latin American edition of the Discovery Kids channel has redesigned their logo, leaving behind the globe-heavy visual language that used to dominate all of Discovery Communications’ logos that, in turn, have been slowly disappearing. No word on whether this identity will translate (pun!) for the main U.S. Discovery Kids, but it very well should. It is infinitely more energetic, playful and appropriate. It feels more like the logo for a cool science and children’s museum where you can interact with the topic, rather than a logo that looks like part of a monolithic media empire that happens to have a channel for kids. The “i” as an exclamation point is clichéd, there are far better type choices than VAG Rounded and the angled “s” is kind of weird, but overall it has just the right feel. Make sure you roll over the logo in the web site, it opens a world (pun!) of possibilities for this identity.
Thanks to Alberto G. Manuel for first tip.
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Josh’s comment is:
As part of the Discovery brand, I'm not sure that I like the fact that it departs so dramatically from any indication that it's a part of the brand. For someone on the outside, the only way to know from a glance is to figure out that the D is "discovery". If you're watching the channel though, it seems pretty likely that they'll station ID themselves, so it doesn't really matter. Whatever the case, it's a vast improvement over the last despite the few minor issues you pointed out.
On Apr.07.2009 at 06:54 AM
Josh2’s comment is:
VAG Rounded? Looks more like Helvetica Rounded.
On Apr.07.2009 at 07:14 AM
honkhonk’s comment is:
considering kids are their target group all their colors seem so TAME... desaturated green and yellow and dark blue? the trend continues on their website.. feels so odd and dark...
and the K just feels far too small for me, it seems to get lost in the circle...
On Apr.07.2009 at 07:20 AM
numismus’s comment is:
@ Armin
Can you qualify what you don't like about the VAG Rounded here? Curious to know what font you'd rather see.
kristin’s comment is:
I always giggle when I see "VAG Rounded" :(
The old logo has been around since I was a kid and it always looked kinda sinister to me. The new one reminds me of toy blocks and I think Discovery Kids demographic is a bit too old for that. Excuse my Canadian-ness, but I think it's a little too Treehouse when it should be more YTV.
Ben Muldrow’s comment is:
I am just glad that we are no longer teaching latin american kids that THE EARTH REVOLVES AROUND THE EARTH
On Apr.07.2009 at 09:01 AM
Anonymous’s comment is:
@Ben Muldrow
YOU MEAN THEY WERE LYING TO US ALL THIS TIME?! WHICH EARTH AM I ON?!
On Apr.07.2009 at 09:10 AM
Viakenny’s comment is:
just one note: in Latin America (including here in Brazil), Discovery Kids is a preschool channel, with programming such as The Backyardigans (even though we do have Nick Jr.), LazyTown, Barney, Pocoyo and until some time ago, the Teletubbies.
and they even have a mascot, called Doki (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_YYwmFAEvpmU/Sb46eXdmzuI/AAAAAAAAB4g/LojU5onQqa8/s400/doki.jpg), which now also appears in the network's on-screen bug, next to the logo.
On Apr.07.2009 at 09:25 AM
Armin’s comment is:
> VAG Rounded? Looks more like Helvetica Rounded.
I think you may be right. Apologies for the confusion if so. I just subconsciously ignore that Helvetica has a rounded version.
> Can you qualify what you don't like about the VAG Rounded here? Curious to know what font you'd rather see.
For identity design, I don't like any font that comes loaded in the system or bundled in applications. It becomes impossible to be unique or distinctive when you default to a choice that thousands of people can use in their Excel spreadsheets. For less than $300, as long as you don't make it your corporate font to be installed in all computers, you can purchase something more unique like, in this case, Omnes.
On Apr.07.2009 at 09:29 AM
Josh’s comment is:
You mean Omnes like this(ish?)
John McCollum’s comment is:
The old one was a train wreck. By default, almost, the new one is an improvement. But Jeez, people, there's really no imagination, no joy here.
I'd give my remaining testicle for an opportunity to land this kind of project. At my firm, we'd throw at least 100 hours of design (and 20 hours of beer) at it.
It's not that the solution is intrinsically awful, it's just that these designers seem to forget the opportunity they have when they're designing a high profile, fun identity for kids. Methinks they came upon a halfway decent solution and said "Done" about two weeks too early.
Okay. End rant.
On Apr.07.2009 at 09:50 AM
Matt2’s comment is:
The "kids" isn't cliched enough. "Kids" should always look like it's written with crayons, with each letter a different color and the S backwards.
Otherwise, I like it.
On Apr.07.2009 at 10:21 AM
Pappy’s comment is:
Death by exclamation mark as an "i". What's with kids orgs and wanting to replace a letter with something dumb. Like an exclamation mark - or worse... a stick figure of joy.
On Apr.07.2009 at 10:28 AM
lucid’s comment is:
This is as dull and uneventful as wonderbread... really, is this the best that these designers can output or are they just phoning it in?
C- for Discovery
C+ for Josh
jRod’s comment is:
the logo reminds me a lot of the Nickelodeon "Double Dare" era, which points to it be a bit outdated. the color selections add to that idea. and it would have been soooo much better if they left the explanation point on the end where it belongs and the "s" upright instead of looking like its drunk.
but, despite all of that, its still an improvement. the old one was... a mess?
On Apr.07.2009 at 11:06 AM
Ryan’s comment is:
Ben you made my morning with your earth revolving around the earth comment. On that simple update its a huge improvement. I like the idea of type orbiting type, even if I'm not in love with the logo.
On Apr.07.2009 at 11:55 AM
Mongoose’s comment is:
The old logo had a red and purple Earth revolving around green and purple Earth. In front of blue Saturn. W. T. F.
So, the new logo takes it down to three fairly pleasing colors, the yellow and green bright but not garish. The 'K' especially reminds me of felt letters, wood blocks, or magnets somehow: big, chunky, kid's toys.
I'm not overly enamored of the yellow ring, but it's not bad. All of this contributes to being a solid kid channel.
Also, Armin: The reason for the tilty 's' is the i/exclamation point. It's supposed to be letters in a bouncy jumble, and the 'i' has flipped itself upside down. I think it ended up more subtle than they intended- though in the website animation, it visually flips!
I give it an A-, it's a huge improvement. Simple, cleaner, and getting rid of two garishly pop-art earths in the same logo alone is a big step forward.
--Mongoose
On Apr.07.2009 at 12:19 PM
marnie’s comment is:
It's certainly no stretch to say it's an improvement, but, come on, it would be hard to get worse than what they started with. Examining in on its own, though, I just don't see how it can be called a win.
What does it mean? Why is there a D orbiting a K? The vaguely space-related theme might make sense if it were a junior version of the Space channel, or even a science channel (at a stretch) but looking at their content, it's neither. I get that the Discovery brand is science-related, but since the kid channel is completely devoid of science, why hang on to elements that have nothing to do with content?
How is it a good thing to have a logo that looks like it's for a science and children's museum where one can interact with the topic when it's a logo for a kid channel that has no science programming?
The colours are fine, I suppose, cheerful and a departure from your standard primaries for kids, and the animation is cute, but otherwise, I don't see this as an effective logo at all.
On Apr.07.2009 at 01:44 PM
Paul B’s comment is:
The one on the left is an unreadable mess. The one on the right is much bolder and youth-targeted but, worryingly, has the same initials as Dorling Kindersley. Oops.
On Apr.07.2009 at 02:10 PM
matt’s comment is:
DK always makes me think of Donkey Kong.
On Apr.07.2009 at 05:31 PM
Mark’s comment is:
It's an improvement,from the previous clipart worthy logo,I had no idea WHY they had two Earths,it made no sense.
The only problem I have is that the D's circle is touching the K,it irritates me to no end. If they make the K slightly smaller so the K doesn't touch the D's circle I would be fine.
I'm not quite sure about the exclamation point being the i though.
On Apr.07.2009 at 06:17 PM
Bunny Wigglesworth’s comment is:
The example of the old logo shown above is outdated -- they've been using a newer, simpler version (look on the game cover here: http://store.discovery.com/detail.php?p=86841)
It's not the cleanest logo in the world, but it's far less of a mess than the old one shown above, and I think the fact there's still a globe on it is a good thing. In fact, the new one just looks like it belongs to some generic kids store ... there's no story there.
On Apr.07.2009 at 06:42 PM
Ryan Adair’s comment is:
Well, it is most definitely designed for children. As for the quirks in the typography like the crooked s and the uber-cliched exclamation mark, well, i have no explanation. To me, it seems 'fine'. Nothing to get in a huff about. It's just a latin, sister offshoot in the end anyways (and for kids at that).
What's next?
On Apr.07.2009 at 08:09 PM
Bill Dawson (XK9)’s comment is:
I don't know about this.
Why do so many kid-focused logos seem so cookie-cutter? Everything needs to be cartoonish or wonky or cute. Couldn't an education outlet like Discovery be bit more sophisticated with a kids logo. And why just illustrated typography? Couldn't the Discovery globe be made into a symbol that might evoke childhood? A ball? A balloon?
The late Tom Corey and his partner Scott Nash had a masterful way of making logos childlike without being childish. They were responsible for logo for Nickleodeon as well as more mature networks like TCM (Turner Classic Movies). Tom and Scott proved that something for kids could (and probably should) be sophisticated and smart.
For me awkward logos like this are the equivalent of when adult illustrators create drawings as if they were done by children. They hardly ever feel authentic.
Authenticity that would say education, kids, wonder, science, smart is missing here. This translation of their old mark still seems, to me, to fall short.
On Apr.07.2009 at 08:21 PM
Adam Haase’s comment is:
Always child's play with these types of logo's.
It reminds me of 2 things: Donkey Kong and Dorling Kindersley.
On Apr.07.2009 at 09:21 PM
dg3’s comment is:
It's certainly a big improvement over the previous logo.
On Apr.07.2009 at 09:39 PM
aei’s comment is:
I like the new logo!!!
I think all of you are very pretentious and forget that in the process of designing things there are clients; clients like to voice their opinion and eventually castrate a lot of good ideas in the process... so hi5 to the designers that worked on this and keep up the good work!
BTW it is helvetica rounded.
On Apr.08.2009 at 01:01 PM
Kate’s comment is:
Ah, I get it now! The earth revolves around kids!
On Apr.09.2009 at 05:14 AM
Bruce’s comment is:
Much simpler, cleaner. I like it. Even though it contains the dreaded orbit, I think it works here. Yes, despite the fact that orbits, swishes, swooshes and arcs have been beaten to death in recent years, applied seemingly without reason to just about any mark, they do, on occasion, work. In this case, kids are the focus of the mark, so it is appropriate that the D of Discovery orbit around the K of Kids.
On Apr.11.2009 at 07:08 PM
Mark S.’s comment is:
As a couple others mentioned, I see it and think Dorling Kindersley. And as they're focused on youth targeted science stuff ... just like Discovery Kids ... I see that as a big issue. Compounded by the fact that Dorling has long held "DK" as their brand identity.
I smell litigation.
On Apr.29.2009 at 05:13 PM
Al’s comment is:
"I'd give my remaining testicle for an opportunity to land this kind of project. At my firm, we'd throw at least 100 hours of design (and 20 hours of beer) at it... Methinks they came upon a halfway decent solution and said "Done" about two weeks too early."
Wow. I want to work for your clients. "Can we have two more weeks? We want to throw more beer at your logo.
On May.15.2009 at 02:07 PM
Alex’s comment is:
"It reminds me of 2 things: Donkey Kong and Dorling Kindersley."
*sniffs Dorling Kindersley's DK*
...
I smell copyright.
ana’s comment is:
discovery es bueno para ensenar pero eso de bod el contructor el camion azul siempre eso creo tiene que ser positivo
On Jul.07.2009 at 06:06 PM
Comments in Brand New, V1.0 have been closed.
