FOX Entertainment

FOX Entertainment Case Study

Context

Define the brand strategy and identity for newly-independent FOX, reimagining the future of TV and launching a culture-defining, cross-platform entertainment brand built for a new generation of fans.

Strategy

Champion FOX’s bold legacy of risk-taking with a new positioning and design system that empowers the brand to create breakthrough entertainment that breaks through popular culture.

Solution

Establish FOX Entertainment as a bold challenger brand by creating and continually optimizing systems for design, tone of voice, and messaging that unify every audience touchpoint.

Creative Context

For any brand leader, the middle of the road is the best place to get run over.

This powerful insight became a key theme during our in-depth interviews with dozens of stakeholders at the company. When FOX launched in 1986, it was sharply defined by its ability to push boundaries and take bigger swings than any other entertainment company. In reawakening this rebellious brand character, we worked collaboratively with FOX to question the legacy models holding them back and dared each other to build the future of network TV. We reconsidered and redesigned every detail, from the iconic FOX logo to how they engage with fans.

Brand Strategy

We set out to transform the iconic “fourth network” into a unique entertainment brand.

To stand out in a content-rich entertainment landscape, the new FOX brand provokes, pushes, and engages its audience. We developed a daring brand strategy that internally encourages FOX employees to break rules and conventions, and externally engages audiences by breaking expectations and boundaries. We then created a new tone of voice that gives FOX license to fully embrace fandom and deliver a more daring perspective on pop culture. The visual identity emboldens this strategy by allowing FOX designers and animators to continually break things to make new things, even the logo itself.

Design System

Our goal was to define a flexible graphic system unlike anything else on TV.

In our first design phase, we deconstructed and rebuilt the FOX identity into a high-end, hyper-modern system. After redrawing the brand mark, we broke it into geometric shapes that form the basis for the brand’s graphic language. Each piece can be reassembled into an infinite array of possibilities, in 2D or 3D space, forming an ever-expanding design system that welcomes creative expression. In motion, we defined characteristic behaviors that adapt to any mood and message, building a proprietary animation toolkit that supports all programming genres and works for all screen sizes.

Four years later, we optimized the design system by adding a new range of tools, assets, and brand guidelines. The refresh introduced a framework for promotion of different types of programming such as acquired content and prestige series, and added even more customization within the design toolkit.

FOX Entertainment office wall 2 with text Break Something To Make Something

Cross-Platform Identity

The new FOX Entertainment brand lives everywhere—from TV to IRL.

As a modern media brand, television is just one of the ways FOX entertains. It follows that the digital/social guide and toolkit we created for FOX far outweighs its on-air guidelines—another reflection of the brand’s shifting strategy. Unconstrained by TV, the design system expands further into brand applications across every touchpoint, from large-scale environmental settings to social platforms, to advertising and marketing.

Brand Film

An internal brand film brings further dimension the new brand language.

Before launch, we created an internal brand film that distills the identity into a dynamic and unifying experience. To craft a narrative that visually telegraphs the attitude and scale of the brand mission, we shot visual effects in-camera and combined them with an array of 2D and 3D animation styles. The film helped FOX Entertainment’s leadership communicate their bold vision and set the tone for all of the exciting events leading up to launch day.

Services

Brand Strategy –– Brand Architecture –– Visual Identity –– Logo Design –– Graphic Design –– Print Design –– Custom Typography –– Animation –– CGI –– In-Camera VFX –– Copywriting –– Post-Production –– Brand Guidelines –– Animation Toolkits