press release
Centric 'Network Branding'
The Marriage of Viacom’s BET Jazz and VH1 Soul…
Introducing the “CENTRIC” Network, the Voice of a New Generation, Envisioned by Eyeball
Centric Montage
New York, NY – October 22, 2009 – The voice of a new generation, Viacom’s CENTRIC network, a celebration of the contemporary African-American experience where multiple perspectives and widely different ideas intersect, overlap and fuse to create a vibrantly hued visual landscape, has launched envisioned in a comprehensive identity package by Eyeball. The CENTRIC package consists of some 100 elements, including the channel ID package and three programming blocks.
CENTRIC programming focuses on people to present a new way of exploring contemporary life and its creative expressions (music art, fashion/style, inspiration, etc.). The color brown, in its many shades, was selected by Eyeball as key to the CENTRIC look and employed it in rich composite overlays that distill into individual hues, as a prism breaks light into the spectrum. “I started experimenting with double exposures realizing it was the simplest way to present the diversity of the CENTRIC experience,” said Eyeball founder and chief creative officer Limore Shur.
“Through re-contextualization, double exposed imagery could be intermixed with any appropriate typographic, visual or environmental elements. And by removing our archetypal characters from the urban environment, taking them out of the high-polish studio environment and placing them in negative space, they could share dream time with beautiful photography to present the network and its programming themes in a more metaphorical, abstract manner than the typical ID scenario,” added Shur.
The CENTRIC project began last March with a call from Viacom’s Phil Delbourgo announcing that they were planning a fall launch of a contemporary African American female-centric network and that Eyeball was their design firm of choice. “We came to Eyeball to create the image for Centric, a new, upscale channel targeting adult African-American and multicultural audiences, because we have an easy relationship with Limore’s (Shur) team that allowed us to work collaboratively with them on the strategic development of the brand,” said Phil Delbourgo, VH1 senior vice president brand and creative. “Our goal was to create an African American channel that reflected the central role that African Americans play in the culture. Eyeball was able to mirror the lifestyle of the audience in an authentic and aspirational way without invoking clichés.”
Eyeball partner Hyejin Hwang pulled together an amazing group of designers, strategists and creatives to work with Limore. She oversaw and supervised the entire design process and pushed the live action to have the same level of finish that she strived for in the package. “Hyejin created an amazingly cohesive team working for months going the extra mile,” lauded Shur “making the whole process a real pleasure”. Jory Hull provided creative direction on the logo design.
VH1s Nigel Cox-Hagen (EVP of Creative & Marketing) and Delbourgo presented Eyeball with tone and manner concepts describing CENTRIC as representative of the new Black America. “The archetype was literally Michelle Obama. We were looking for a contemporary take on African American pride as manifested through art and culture,” said Shur after reviewing photo samples and discussing potential artistic influences, such as Mos Def, Andre 2000, Jill Scott and John Legend.”
With this in mind, Eyeball’s goal was to find a new way to package the Black experience. “Except for musicians, artists or photographers, African Americans are rarely seen in a mainstream populist manner. That approach went over really well,” said Shur, who was inspired by a Doug Aitken video installation. “We worked hard to balance the characters with overlaid glimpses of everyday life experiences by incorporating artifacts, environments and scenarios to help the viewer see a reflection of themselves and to make CENTRIC an immersive reality,”
Logo, inspired by “centricity”
That concept carried over to the logo design, whose tasteful typography and layout is combined with three circles, overlapping brightly colored circular shapes that together create a rich, dark brown shade. The logo resides in the middle of the sphere to further accent the concept behind CENTRIC. “Each layer of the logo visually represents an everyday scenario or environment inspired by a particular CENTRIC program. As a layer, a sphere intersects with people it picks up an individual trait to produce a visual narrative. “On the one hand the sphere changes the way people engage with their world and with each other. On the other, human interaction becomes a vital part of the sphere as it continues its journey,” notes Shur.
The package presumes a simple graphic yet beautiful approach. “I wanted something loose and free, that almost anybody could add to,” said Shur. “Viacom was very pleased. Every frame is gorgeous in itself, yet they are loose enough to work from and the double exposure provides the freedom to add new creative as program blocks evolve.”
Centric IDs
Hi-Res Images for Press (Right click and download)
Credits for Centric Network branding
VH1
SVP of Brand & Design:
Phil DelBourgho
Producer:
Gary Encarnacion
Creative Director:
Kesime Bernard
EVP of Creative & Marketing
Nigel Cox-Hagan
Eyeball
Post Production Company:
Eyeball
Creative Partner/Creative Director/Director:
Limore Shur
Creative Partner/Co-Creative Director/Co-Director:
Hyejin Hwang
Producer:
Taline Ghazarian
Live Action Production Manager:
Erin Leeman
Designer/Animator:
Jesse McGowan
Designer:
Mitchell Paone
Hsiang Ju Hung
Chris Ro
Darius Maghen
Strategist:
Sandra Arndt
Animator:
Neil Stuber
Animator:
Elliot Lim
Animator:
David Pocull
Junior Animator:
Kyle Jones
For more information, art or interview requests please contact:
Ben Spivak
212-431-5424
ben@eyeballnyc.com
