History of idents P1

 The BBC Television service first took place in November 1936. The producers and managers were so overwhelmed with the creative possibilities of the medium. 10 months later is when the thought of an on screen identity emerged. The first piece for the identity was The Tuning Symbol. It was merely a circle and a line followed by the words 'BBC Television Service'. 

This is what the observer said about the tuning signal picture: "The new tuning signal picture, which was brought into use last week, looks as if a BBC artist had tried to outdo the most modern of the moderns. Actually its grouping of cubes and circles is designed to allow the picture in the receiver to be correctly proportioned. It is transmitted for five minutes before each programme". - 26 September 1937.

The Television Symbol- The story of Abram Games batwings logo

Pre-television branding wasn't huge back then, when TV did come to the UK there wasn't much to inspire future TV graphic designers. Soon after that there was the arrival of commercial competition, so the BBC decided they needed something excited to identify themselves. Abram Games was hired by the BBC to produce the first ever on air TV symbol.

The bat wings symbol first went live on the 2nd December 1953 replacing the BBC crest and various test cards seen randomly between programmes.

Global Ambition

  

"The changing of a channel symbol is a crucial event and not one to be undertaken without more than usual thought and careful preparatory work."- Clifford Hatts, Head of Television Design Group, 18th July 1974.

The BBC designers took on the world in 1963 when the seven region map was replaced by a spinning globe.

The black and white globes were regularly refreshed. BBC tv became BBC1 and a new ident used from 1966-1968 had the globe spinning within a watch strap. It then was replaced by a short lived floating globe.

Into the new Millennium

In 1997 a new pan-BBC brand was introduced. The BBC globe made its final appearance in a set of idents, by bringing it into the real world. They printed the globe onto the hot air balloon and filmed it flying at locations all over the UK. Thats how they did a farewell to the globe idea as they went into a new Millennium.