New BBC logo: Why the hype on the Internet is not true.
A logo redesign is rarely cheap, and it’s not always guaranteed to look completely different from its predecessor. As the saying goes, if a logo isn’t broken, don’t fix it (that’s the saying, right?) – and that seems to be the way the BBC has been working on its “new” design.
The broadcaster reportedly spent thousands of pounds on a revamped logo that looks almost identical to the old one, consisting of three square blocks, each containing a BBC letter. Like all the best logos, it’s an instantly recognizable design, but the latest update seems to have ruffled some feathers.
The most obvious changes are the addition of extra space between the squares, and the font within them is smaller and slightly more symmetrical. And that’s about it. This is hardly a rebranding on the scale of Burger King‘s new look – in fact, it’s not a rebranding at all.
People’s discontent over the innocuous redesign seems to be based on the perceived cost. According to an exclusive report in The Sun, “tens of thousands of pounds” of “taxpayer money” were spent on the redesign, which was quietly unveiled on the BBC Select streaming service this year and is expected to be more widely distributed in the fall.
The #BBC Logo change is an absolute joke & waste of License payers cash! 'Cost not significant' ? How many pensioners Licenses could have been paid for instead? Hang your heads in shame! A corppration run by out of touch fools, with no grip on reality! @bbc @BBCOne @bbcpress
— Olivia Mechelewski (@LivStick) July 4, 2021
Lol 50k to change the BBC logo??? To something exactly the same as the old bloody logo! 50k of our money!?? This is where my TV licence money is going? Really??? https://t.co/lDYGr6n8nH
— Sandi Hirani (@Sandi_H_xx) July 5, 2021
But the controversy doesn’t seem to be all that clear-cut. Instead of a redesign, the “new” logo is a redrawing of the logo in the BBC’s new proprietary font, Reith (named after BBC founder John Reith). And as many have pointed out on Twitter, using your own font means the BBC no longer has to pay licensing fees for Gill Sans, the font used in the original logo. And that means it could all end up saving money in the long run. Who would have thought?
Sigh. The BBC logo change is so they no longer have to pay rights for the old font – the Reith font was designed in-house for just this reason – it will save money in the long run. https://t.co/KYRO71CCTr
— Chris KEEP YOUR MASK ON Merriman (@ChrisTheDJ) July 5, 2021
Here we go. The hype surrounding the new design is probably a fuss over nothing. The BBC probably didn’t decide to spend a bunch of pounds on a rebranding that isn’t a rebranding — it’s probably just continuing to transfer its brand assets to a new proprietary font. Now we can all rest easy. Speaking of font licensing costs, you won’t find anything like that in our selection of the best free fonts.
