Production Company Logo Research

For my media AS coursework I will be working with the Synopsity Productions brief. Since the brief is based upon the production company 'Synopticity Productions' I will be looking at what elements can make a good and effective logo, which a professional television company would use and represents the company itself.

For a company to be successful I believe they must stand out from the crowd, which mean that their logo must do that too, but at the same time it have to be somewhat similar to the others, so it easily can be recognised to be the logo of a production company, it have to share some of the elements which makes the others' logos good.

After looking at a few successful television production companies in two different countries, in the UK and in Sweden, and made an effort to analyse what makes their logos so good, recognizable and special, as well as what they have in common with each other I have come to the following conclusion:

British Broadcasting Corporation.

The BBC is a well-known British production company, not only in the UK, but in many places around the world. Internationally they are mainly known for shows like ‘Doctor Who’, ‘Sherlock’, ‘Top Gear’ and ‘Call the Midwife’. Although the company produces fictional and written series they've also got a range of different kinds of

In the logo, the letters BBC is an acronym and stands for the production company's name: British Broadcasting Corporation, an acronym is easier for the audience to remember and recognise (and looks more interesting too, which draws attention) than the full name spelled out.

They've used the simplistic form of square boxes, all with (seemingly) the same dimensions, as a frame around each letter. The fact that the letters are cut-outs from the boxes they're framed within, I reckon is intentional. Draws the eyes of the audience inwards- towards the letters, and catches attention.

The simplistic theme can also be seen in the colours used, since the boxes of the logo usually are either black or white. These colours are selected mainly because either white or black can contrast basically every colour: white contrasts dark colours and black contrasts light colours, it therefor draws attention and adds to the overall goal to appeal and attract an audience. 

Television (TV) 4.

TV 4, or Channel 4 as it often can be referred to, is a popular Swedish production company, although it is not known globally, its logo is well known as Sweden's second biggest production company by the country's inhabitants. The company is probably most known for its big number of Fix it yourself, and different building and house restoring, cookery and singing shows and competitions.

The TV 4 logo, just like the BBC logo, is very simplistic, using the number 4, only, to shorten and simplify their name. The number, in the colour white, is located in the middle of a circle (which is red) - a basic shape which all easily can recognise and remember. A circle is commonly seen as something harmful and pleasant, since there's no sharp edges or corners the viewer’s eyes are dragged to however, combined with the sharp edges of the 4 draws attention to the centre and the number itself - which is the main association with the company. The shape of the number is also similar to a framing square or similar measuring tool in the building industry, which draws a parallel to the many build and fix it yourself programs that they've produces over the years. Not only can the colours be linked to the love and affection the production company tries to convince their audience they've got, as well as the goodness often associated with white, but can link back to the socialistic society - run by the Social Democrats - in the 1990s, when the company first started. Yet this could be seen as ironic since they're a private company, nut run by the state as the government wanted at that time.

Independent Television.

Independent Television, or ‘ITV’ as they are usually called, is a British commercial TV network, formed in 1955 mainly to break the monopoly on the TV industry, which was held by the BBC. Some of their products have been exported and broadcasted over the world, like 'X-factor UK', 'Downton Abbey', 'Mr. Selfridge' and TV adaptions on popular books like  'Midsummer Murders' and 'Miss. Marple'.

Just like many others', the logo is an acronym for the name of the production company. By letting the letters swoosh into each other it gives a flow and affinity between the letters, indicating a good relationship within the company as well as towards the audience. The colours changing between each letter, going from blue to yellow, with other colours in between, gives more connection between the letters as well. The range of colours indicate how the company produce many different kinds of shows, not just one single type, which all still can be linked together some way or another- just like the colours and the letters of the logo. The blue can stand for independence and freedom, just like a bird in the sky is free, to do what they and the audience. Then the colour goes over to black, which usually indicates darkness and bad things- in this case it could indicate that some of the content they make may not be suitable for young children, the green could stand for nature and their British roots. Where the ‘t’ and the ‘v’ goes together the colour is pink, which could stand for the romantic content many of their products have. Lastly, they end with a yellow ‘v’ which goes back and links to the blue ‘I’ and the sky, as the yellow could symbolise the sun and how the company’s there to make good products to brighten up the audience’s days. 

Sveriges Television [Aktiebolag].

Sveriges Television, translated to 'Sweden's Television', is the biggest TV production company in Sweden. They're known for their broad range of series and films, broadcasted without any commercial brakes, such as ‘På spåret’ (on the [train] track), ‘Så ska det låta’, ‘Pistvakt’, ‘Uppdrag granskning’ (mission review), ‘Fem myror är fler än fyra elefanter’ (five ants are more than four elefants)  ‘Bron’ (the bridge), ‘Äkta människor’ (authentic humans) and ‘Expedition Robinson’ - where the first one is to be exported and the three last have already become very big internationally.

Their well-known logo is an anagram of their name, ‘SVT’, together with the silhouette of the petals on a flower. The letters are big so they will be easy to see from a distance, and the logo itself is a very simple one. The logo in black and white is what is shown on the TV screen, just black text with the background of the program showing, this is to contrast from the program and make the logo visible for the viewers, while the blue and white one is how the flags and signs outside the production company’s premises look like.

The blue could symbolise the sky and how the company’s productions are available to all people, young and old, rich and poor, boys and girls, in Sweden; just like we all can see the same sky, we can all also see the same shows thanks to SVT. The flower at the end could indicate the company’s roots in Sweden and love for their country, since most of the area in Sweden is covered by fields of forests. And the white colour of the text and the flower petals indicate the broad range of programs they produce and their broad audience, since white actually consists of all colours in the world, shone on by light.

All of these production companies have a quite simplistic logo, with some sort of anagram or shortening of their name, and simple colour connotations, yet stand out in some way or another from the rest.