Trollbäck + Co's CCTV 9 Rebrand

International creative studio Trollbäck + Company (T+Co) recently created a visually stunning branding package and logo redesign for China’s Documentary Channel CCTV-9.

 

To express the scope of programming, T+Co created six unique station IDs featuring logo animations deftly immersed into rich, photoreal CG environments. From the humid serenity of a bamboo forest just after the rain, to the brand new Rem Koolhaas-designed CCTV headquarters in Beijing, the spellbinding package offers CCTV-9 as a window into the universe.

 

 

 

"We enjoyed working together with [Creative Director] Elliott [Chaffer], [Head of Production] Erica [Hirshfeld], [Producer] Dina [Chang] and everyone who was involved in this project,” says Zhou Jun, Head of Corporate Image Office for CCTV-9. “We benefitted from their moving imagination and rigorous thinking, and were really excited by the beautiful blueprint that Trollbäck + Company gave us."

 

The logo animations for “Bamboo,” “Electronica,” “Ice Cave,” “Metropolis,” “Porcelain,” and “Space Station” are based on six broad themes that reflect the channel's coverage of natural history, human endeavors, illumination, arts, progress and infrastructure.

 

“Conceptually, the cube is a fantastical multifaceted mirror reflecting the various roles of the channel,” says Elliott Chaffer, Creative Director of Trollbäck + Company. “In some ways, it reflects reality or illuminates subject, and in other expressions, it takes on the quality of imagery unique to the theme. This concept offered us a lot of flexibility in our designs and allowed the cube to manifest in a variety of compelling ways."

 

With the exception of the traffic shot in "Metropolis," the package is purely CG-driven. T+Co’s award-winning animation team used Maya, Cinema4D and Mudbox to model, render and texture each frame with complex, high-end photorealism.

 

“We aspired to set a high standard for CCTV,” concludes Chaffer. “It challenged us to push ourselves and create something that's cutting-edge and cinematic. It was inspiring to be able to clearly define our direction from the outset, and then execute it with the exceptional level of support and trust CCTV put behind us. We’re truly pleased with the package's outcome and hope they use it for a long time."

 

Project: CCTV-9 Branding Package

Airdate: March 2013

 

Client: CCTV-9 Documentary Channel

Head of Corporate Image Office: Zhou Jun

 

Creative Agency: Trollbäck + Company

Creative Director: Elliott Chaffer

Producers: Dina Chang and Kay Chen

Art Director: Peter Alfano

Design and Animation: Peter Alfano, Chieh Yen, Mike Schaeffer, Julia Siemon, Anthony Serraino, Ben Nichols, Josh Eriksen

Head of Production:  Erica Hirshfeld

 

Original Music:  ECHOLAB