The new identity is created by Saffron Brand Consultants, an independent global brand consultancy based in Madrid, Spain, which has clients like Facebook, Tata, and L&T. Although this is their first association with a news channel. Pandey said the issue they were trying to solve is that all news channels look and feel the same which is why they chose Saffron as they wanted to bring a fresh perspective towards TV news.
Speaking about their partnership with ABP Network, Jacob Benbunan, Co-founder and CEO, Saffron, said being approached by ABP was exciting because it’s an organisation that touches people every day. “We wanted the symbol of ABP News to really be able to move, to be dynamic and show what news and breaking news are. We developed this idea of the compass and by doing this, we believe we introduced a powerful element, which tells us where the right source of information and news is,” he said.
“When we started to work on this, we realised it’s a fantastic opportunity to convey what the ABP network stood for. This is a fundamental substance that every engagement that we carry includes what is the strategy behind the design expression for this,” he added.
Benbunan said they also wanted to do away with ABP’s association with Star. He said the arrow point was in a little box which they wanted to free. The logo needed to complement the network’s digital presence. Along with the logo, the overall look of the channel is also changing, which Benbunan said is inspired by Indian fabric.
“The logo is just the signature, from a visual language there was a wonderful opportunity to reflect the variety, diversity, and beauty that India has, which gets manifested through its textiles, across the fabric. The fabric conveys the idea of the different threads that make Indian society. We thought of using different patterns in the background using the colours of red and gold as the elements of threads that would create this fabric. The red thread unites all the manifestation of ABP News; beyond that, a new font has been developed which conveys the idea of dynamism,” he said.
Benbunan said that they are trying to move away from identities that are very similar to other networks. “We are moving from a very static symbol identity similar to other TV networks to a very unique and moving identity with differentiated attractive elements and assets that make the system. It is moving away from the danger of becoming vanilla and soulless like many channels in India which by the way are designed to look international channels instead of something genuinely Indian,” he said.