E4 was Channel 4’s new baby. It needed a brand that was recognisably young, rebellious and different. We wanted the logo to contain the letter and the number in a single, toy-like shape. We knew this would become a great thing to play with as the brand developed.
This is an ident from the very first incarnation of the channel. We were pretty sure E4 should be a single colour brand. Orange and purple seemed to stand out as having the right feel and energy, but orange was much in use elsewhere. We chose purple, and E4 made it their own.
In the second incarnation of the brand, we built an E4 world. This was the first time Matt Rudd collaborated with Oscar Gonzales, who he still enjoys working with today.
We created a distinctive, edgy font which incorporated the E from the logo. This helped to create an unforgettable on-screen brand.
These are ‘word bumps’ and were used to top and tail advert breaks. There was something nice about waiting for the second part of phrase, and this was a great way to establish the channel’s cheeky personality.
