TNT

overhauling an iconic IDENTITY

2015 was a year of bold innovation at Turner Entertainment Networks. Kevin Reilly, Turner’s president and CEO, introduced new strategies that included a heavy focus on original programming and holistic rebrand of both TBS and TNT.
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Having already engaged in a successful upfront collaboration in the spring of 2015, Kill 2 Birds was tapped to handle the TNT portion of the rebrand. The ‘next era’ of TNT's evolution needed a modern visual refresh that reflected it's new position as a premium, content-driven network.
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The Kill 2 Birds team created a visual language that features dramatically framed, black and white photography housed within a simple, yet contemporary graphic motif. Color played a key role in anchoring the design, as K2B created a library of interactive palettes that assured TNT’s brand remains fresh.
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A custom-designed typeface capped the new look, featuring a ‘cut’ design that offers opportunity to infuse colored inlays into the type, or create an entire negative space, depending on a particular element's need.
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The comprehensive rebrand encompassed ‘everything but the kitchen sink’. Kill 2 Birds started with designing a revamped logo which was subsequently transposed throughout TNT’s promo package, movie package and network package, ultimately creating over 300 deliverables over a span of three months.

CUSTOM FONT

It was imperative for this rebrand to introduce some personality and character.  From kill 2 Birds’ perspective, the Title Card and Endpage systems would be the perfect place to house personalized expression. These systems are the workhorses of promotion, so how can they be fresh and unique despite their frequency on air?

After some sleepless nights of brainstorming, the TNT “Cut” font was born.

Beginning with the standard Univers font as a base, K2B created a custom, cut version of the typeface that has the ability to overlay on itself [or not], allowing designers the option of filling the cut portion with a color or cutting the space out completely. Once animated, the “Reveals” within the color fills [or negative space] Provide dynamic motion and much needed energy to areas that are typically motionless on screen.

The resulting look provides a unique, own-able brand language while also providing endless modularity and fresh executions.

CUSTOM AFTER EFFECTS toolkit

Typical network toolkits provide limited ability to animate text within Title Cards and Endpages. Generally, there are too many things that can go awry if complex animation is introduced... And networks are usually pressed for time with tight production deadlines. K2B wanted to put an end to that limitation for TNT.

While the custom fonts created a fresh, contemporary spin on Title Cards and Endpages, they also presented a technical challenge in how to execute the type animations in a toolkit. Could this somehow be automated?

Yes it can!

By enlisting the help of some very talented coders, Kill 2 Birds created a custom After Effects control panel that makes the process of creating graphics as easy as data entry. Designers at TNT only need to enter their desired text, choose a color and the control panel not only produces the final card, but animates it as well!

Kill 2 Birds created multiple proprietary AE scripts that do all the work via a randomizer embedded within the code. All that’s left to do is hit render and deliver! The innovative system is simple to use and turns around final product with extreme efficiency.

TCA / OOH

Kevin Reilly introduced the press to the new TNT in January of 2016 at the annual TCA meeting in Los Angeles.

Kill 2 Birds was instrumental in defining the packaging of the presentation by creating the graphic opens and interstitials in the sizzle tapes, environmental signage, step-and-repeats, posters, banners [just to name a few]... All in the new look.

As Reilly articulated his vision to the gathered masses, he was surrounded by visual evidence of TNT’s evolution and commitment to ushering in their ‘next era of what a television network will become’.

ONLINE STYLE GUIDE

Style guides provide a great roadmap during the initial phases of a rebrand. However, like birthday presents that you didn’t really want, you look at them once or twice, and toss them in the corner.

Kill 2 Birds wanted to continue the streak of innovation that pervades this rebrand by creating a style guide that people might actually like.

Turner is a very large company, so it was also imperative that we create a style guide that can be housed in a central place on the TNT server that could easily be accessed in a web browser. Gone are the days of looking for a huge, printed notebook on a shelf, or clumsily looking for a file inside multiple folders. Click on your browser bookmark and viola!

To create even further clarity, we decided that in addition to the guide working in written form, it could animate as well. As the user scrolls down the page, animated gifs activate and subsequently instruct, by showing how the element works in motion.

Taken one step further, instructional ‘how to’ videos were also included where necessary.