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Rebrand Roundup: BBC Bitesize, Scope and more

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BBC Bitesize – Rufus Leonard

UK public broadcaster the BBC’s online education platform BBC Bitesize has been rebranded by design agency Rufus Leonard. Those in their 30s will remember Bitesize as a series of TV programmes that first aired in 1998 to help teenagers pass their GCSE exams. However, the new look communicates the fact that the service now caters to a wider age range from toddlers to late-teens across multiple platforms.

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Rufus Leonard worked alongside UX designers at the Beeb to incorporate a new typeface created by Dalton Maag called BBC Reith, an homage to founder Lord John Reith. The font replaces Gill Sans and is easier to read on digital screens as audiences consume content across more devices today. The main colour of the new website retains the brand’s original orange with the Bitesize logo coming to life when hovered over. The three sections that relate to the different age ranges of users are also colour coded.

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Orange to berry gradient has been added for younger primary school users to represent energy and curiosity; purple is for secondary school learners to represent a soothing effect and reduce stress; and blue is for school leavers to represent natural progression. The brief was to improve the Bitesize user experience across all platforms and be flexible enough to appeal to all ages, with the result being a more personalised and user-friendly service. It was also meant to mark the brand’s 20th anniversary in 2018.

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Scope – The Team

Equality is an increasingly important theme in today’s world and nothing brings through the meaning more than the equals symbol. National disability charity Scope has incorporated the ‘=’ sign as part of a new identity created by design studio The Team which pushes for a fairer society.

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The new branding was created alongside Scope’s in-house design team and completed in a two-week sprint environment. It incorporates the word ‘Scope’ set in white in a new sans-serif typeface called Hargreaves, an homage to Bill Hargreaves, the first disabled person to sit on Scope’s council. The colour purple has been retained by the brand as its main theme and accompanied by a secondary palette of yellow, teal and off-white. The strapline – equality for disabled people – is present after the equals sign and the word Scope.

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All the new assets were created with legibility in mind with typeface and colour combinations that are easy to read. Hargreaves typeface has a large x-height, large spacing between each letter, open counters and no ambiguity between letters and numerals. The new branding is currently rolling out across print and marketing materials, merchandise, staff uniforms and online platforms.

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Manchester Literature Festival – Mark Studio Manchester Literature Festival has unveiled a new look inspired by the idea of book pages turning. The new theme was created by Manchester-based Mark Studio, which has worked with the Festival for over a decade. The event features a range of events around literature, from talks on novels and poetry to book launches and panel discussions with authors.

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As part of the new look, the name of the event appears in bold all-caps sans-serif type with the letters vertically cut through to create a faded effect. It was achieved through letraset, which was rubbed against the edges of books and the resulting pattern was photographed and used across the brand assets including typography, icons and imagery. The colour palette for the new theme is green, yellow, pink and blue, which represent different events at the Festival with images and type in black.

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Mark Studio wanted to wash away Manchester’s reputation for being a somewhat grey and gloomy city by bringing bright tones to the fore. The theme for this year’s event is Pioneering Women to mark 100 years since women were first given the right to vote. However, Mark made the branding as gender-neutral as possible to attract a diverse range of people to the event in 2018.

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Royal Opera House – Atomic London

The Royal Opera House (ROH) in London is currently repositioning itself as a more accessible venue following a £50m refurbishment via a new campaign from local creative agency Atomic London.

The company linked up with leading British photographer Giles Revell and the work, entitled Feel Something New, features an imaging process that captures the shape and colour of movement.

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The abstract images, which show a shock of colour against a black background, were created using pioneering digital technology taking influence from scientist Harold Edgerton.

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Captured on a three-day shoot, ballet and opera stars from the Royal Opera House were required to constantly repeat choreographed moves, carefully adjusting their body shapes between each take.

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The images are being showcased as part of a campaign across London and the South East of England to promote the ROH as it unveils its revamped theatres and public spaces today (Monday September 24).

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The campaign that includes print, film and outdoor executions and the images are also available to buy as a limited-edition print work from the newly refurbished ROH gift shop.

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