About a year ago, I started working on what may be one of my favorite projects I’ve ever done. It finally went public last week, so I can finally share it with you here: the new brand identity for KRON-TV in San Francisco. (More thorough press release and compilation sizzle reel video is still to come!)

As a kid, doodling tv station logo animations were part of what got me interested in graphic design for television, and my first motion design jobs were in local tv news and promotion, so I’ve always had a soft spot for local tv design. I also love the challenge of news graphics because there are so many different pieces and elements that not only need to feel like a unified design, but also literally work with each other when on screen at the same time in unexpected combinations.

When I began the new KRON visual identity with Nexstar’s Vince Conti and KRON’s Matt Damore, they specifically wanted a package based on circular shapes and to keep their logo and color palette of white, red, and black. I made the look primarily white for a cleaner and brighter feel than their latest mostly-red look, but my first design proposals expanded the palette and added a range of grays and accent colors of blue and yellow. Those reflected parts of the bay area environment and also touched on past looks in KRON’s history, and after seeing it in use, they embraced it.

One of the first sets of styleframes that I personally loved was inspired by bauhaus design and minimalism. Coming after a few directions I wasn’t happy with, I felt like I had finally hit on something, but it also made me sad because I thought “they’ll never go for these.” Thankfully, I was wrong about that, and it turned out to be the direction they loved the best.

We wanted KRON’s package to be clean and modern, easy to recognize and comfortable to use. It was important that it was forward-looking and avoided traditional old-fashioned elements like light effects and 3D. I also wanted the complexity and energy to happen in the motion and then resolve to clean minimal compositions that get out of the way - to enhance the news being presented, not distract from it. To that end, the ticker was also designed to feel decidedly separate from the other lower third graphics.

I've always believed a newscast opens should be sort of a love letter to the community. Instead of focusing inward on the tv station with shots of cameras, choppers or news crews, they focus outward to reflect the local community with lots of local scenic imagery. I began every open with a shot of local landmark the Sutro Tower, and ended with a shot of the Golden Gate Bridge, a natural tie-in to the Circle4 logo based on the bridge.

After seeing the package, I want a viewer to feel like they just ran into an old friend on the street that they haven’t seen in a long time, and leave thinking ‘wow, they really look good.” There’s no place in the world like San Francisco, and I hope this becomes a part of the city’s fabric.

I’m working on getting a sizzle reel posted soon, but until then, you can see the look in action here: watch KRON 4 News online