ON YOUR SIDE

CNN-IBN will have a new identity at 8 pm on April 18, 2016.

A new name, a new logo, a new screen architecture, new packaging, new formats on primetime and new content in the weekend can be expected as part of the brand refresh. There are many parts to this change and a lot of thought has gone into designing each of the above. We are refreshing the brand to provide a better viewer experience, so you have the right to know the thought and philosophy behind the change. This piece will share the back story behind the new look and screen architecture.

When the core design team met to ideate on the new look, we felt we should first get consumer feedback on the existing look across English news channels. We were keen to understand what our audience like or dislike. The common thread behind most feedback was viewers struggle to absorb the amount of screen information that news channels dish out. It was not possible to view, hear and read everything displayed on screen, all at the same time. The message was clear. We had to declutter the screen. LESS IS MORE was the guiding philosophy.

We began by spelling out the core principles behind our design, the ABCD as we call it. Our new product needed to be AESTHETIC, BOLD, CLEAN & DYNAMIC in this order of priority. We have tried to ensure that our new look lives and breathes these four principles. Our screen needs to look good, the graphics need to be bold without being cluttered and finally, the screen needs to reflect dynamism built into the design

It wasn’t all hunky dory. There were several challenges. Opinion was divided within our newsroom. Debates heated up in our internal deliberations on how much information should be served on screen. One school of thought felt that the Indian audience is used to multiple layers of information and our endeavor to decongest the screen shouldn’t be a handicap as competition provides multiple information layers. The other view stated that much of the screen information presented on news channels is repeated. Brevity in the use of words is the need of the hour. Design requires breathing space, filling up every single inch of real estate available on screen must be avoided. The biggest challenge therefore, was to arrive at the balance between information and design. We have tried to create a middle ground where both can coexist peacefully.

While the ABC of our design philosophy is self-explanatory, it is the D which may not be apparent to all. We have tried to create a dynamic screen. A screen which doesn’t get monotonous. We have devised several mechanisms to reflect dynamism. One is through the use of colours for different genres – red, blue, green and purple for political, business, sports and entertainment respectively. For each of these different segments, the background colour will change automatically, within a news bulletin, at the press of a button. In the beginning, the audience may not fathom why the colour is changing but over time, they will connect each of these colours to news of a specific genre.

Our design and software programming team has developed a first-of-its-kind ‘smart box’ which automatically positions itself based on the graphic templates chosen. The transitions are seamless without being jarring and therefore allow a better visual experience. The screen realigns itself at the click of a button, achieved through smart programming.

Our consumer research provided us insights on how the audience is presently confused as anything appears anywhere and they all look similar. It is difficult to know which information is linked to the story being aired and where one ends and the other begins. We have addressed this concern by segmenting the screen into three distinct zones – On-Story, Ticker and Auxiliary chapter which are distinctly colour-coded. The central part of the screen is linked to the story being aired and assumes a colour based on its genre, mostly red which changes to blue, green or purple depending on the news genre. The bottom of the screen provides Breaking News, News Alerts and updates and uses golden text on a black background which clearly stands out in its attractiveness. The right panel slot (RPS) is meant to provide auxiliary information that adds value. From news in brief, what’s trending in the digital world, to weather and stock market info, match scores from the world of sports, you will find it all on this white space. The colour coding in these distinct zones reflect the channel colours seen in the new logo – red, white and black.

Our new design has been created keeping in mind not only the viewer but our advertiser also. For the first time, advertising tickers will appear on the RPS in addition to all the value added information mentioned in the previous paragraph.

It’s not just the screen graphics and show packaging which is new, we have built a new studio. A studio which has multiple pockets meant for each genre, primetime and weekend programming. A studio which is completely dynamic, where digital backgrounds can change at the click of a button, colour lights can vary to create an ambience and mood as per the genre and which allows flexibility for the news presenter to move around freely in the studio.

As they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. While we have tried to do everything we can to provide a better visual experience to our audience, it is for you to judge if it works for you. Bouquets are brickbats are both welcome. Do share your thoughts. After all, everything has been done keeping you in mind. Because we at CNN-News18 are ON YOUR SIDE

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