A digital first identity for NBCUniversal’s global crime brand.
13th Street is a global crime and suspense TV brand owned by NBCUniversal International Networks.
Since its last brand refresh, NBCU has significantly increased its social media presence and upped its digital strategy. Our brief was to think of 13th Street as a crime brand - rather than just a ‘channel’ brand - that would stand out on multiple platforms and get the attention of an audience that doesn’t watch traditional TV.
BRAND IMPRINTS
We developed a set of brand imprints: platform agnostic and instantly-recognisable visual signatures that are the foundation of the brand’s identity.
Brand imprints include classic design elements (colour, font, logo) as well as unique brand stamps that relate to a brand’s positioning.
In the case of 13th Street, a brand driven by the idea of anticipation, we were inspired by the brand’s core values to create a set of ownable imprints, including Magnification, Block-Out and a Focus-in Device.
COLOUR
We kept the palette simple but striking. Black and white accented with an acid lime green - refreshingly different from the crimson red that dominates the crime genre.
FONT AND LOGO LOCK
We wanted the brand’s font, Nudista, to do more heavy-lifting in all messaging, so we recrafted it by slicing 1/13th out of each letter. The result, Nudista Scar, is a distinctive and ownable brand font.
The scar was developed to lock into the logo, maximising attribution between content titles and the 13th Street brand.
BLOCK-OUT & FOCUS-IN DEVICE
13th Street’s suspenseful and intriguing tone inspired additional imprints.
The Block-Out and Focus-In Devices challenge the viewer to pay attention if they want to know the full story.
MAGNIFICATION
Imagery and text can be magnified to focus on small details and force reappraisal of a message.
The brand imprints come together in a high-functioning total kit that gives the brand serious stand-out on every platform.