Opinion BY Armin

It’s a Gradient-Covered World After All

Founded in 1953, Rede Record is, in terms of reach and coverage, the second largest television network in Brazil with varied programming that covers everything from soaps to sitcoms to reality TV to variety shows to news and this year they are the official network for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. This past February, they introduced an evolution to their logo, which has featured a globe surrounded by metal-like plates since 1994.

[The ADC Young Guns X imposing “X” will be on the site for 24 hours only. We are happy to be their media partners.]

Logo launch segment during Domingo Espetacular. Don’t miss the 3:09 mark when the host tries to point to the new bug logo on the screen.

Logo animation and sound mnemonic.

If you have been feeling minimalist this week on Brand New with all the flat, black-and-white identities reviewed this should get your gradient neurons firing. When you look at the logo history at the top it’s easy to see how they ended up where they are. What started in 1990 as a harmless, if downright ugly, globe logo surrounded by a tsunami icon has, in 20 years, “evolved” into a highly polished globe with super detailed renderings at times abstract and at others realistic — either way, never quite sophisticated. This latest rendition is probably the best one, relatively speaking. It’s simpler, with nicer rendering details, like the reflection of the color plates in the silver globe. The typography is also an improvement, away from the futuristic versions it had used previously into a 1970s Avenir-esque choice deep-fried in a metal gradient. What’s kind of scary is that this visual language is the norm in major Brazilian TV networks, including Rede Globo, reviewed here in 2008. So in context — I repeat, in context — it succeeds. The news logo also got a makeover, which looks like an evil, robotic, cyclops overlord.

Record News logo animation and sound mnemonic.

Thanks to Thiago Felizzola for the tip.