(click image to enlarge [but not by much!])
by Lisa DeAngelo
I'm not the type to watch a lot of television. In fact, I currently don't have cable. For the most part I don't miss its distracting qualities, but when it's available I do like to indulge. When I'm not watching the Food Network (my favorite channel), you'll most likely catch me watching Comedy Central.
It's a channel that has provided me with much entertainment through the years. I mean, who doesn't like a good laugh? Plus, I give the network major props for reviving one of my all-time favorite cartoons, Futurama (Bender rocks, BTW. Just saying.). Speaking of revival, Comedy Central is no stranger to giving new life to old things. Example? Their logo.
When the network was born, their logo featured a simplified graphic of a globe. A cityscape pops out from the representation of the United States, showing cute, little “broadcasting lines” coming from a building's antenna. The network's name proudly pops out in yellow on a banner that bares resemblance to a film canister. This old school logo is illustrative and creative, but it has a lot of things going on in it! Even though I look back fondly on this one, I have to admit less is more sometimes. I'm not surprised the logo eventually got simplified.
Early in the new millennium, Comedy Central felt the need to freshen up their logo. The new version had a similar concept but it was much more type-driven. All-caps make the name of the network bold and noticeable in front of circular shape below it. Buildings still pop out from above the network's name, but this time they are more stylized. The countries on the globe also were changed to look like a talk bubble, but it still resembles the old logo, having a tiny bit poking out from underneath the text. I like what they did with it. They stuck to some old themes, simplifying it in a stylish and hip way.
Now, to the most recent changes in the logo... The current one hasn't existed for very long, but it's certainly stirred up controversy in the year of its existence. I'm not going to lie, the first time I saw it, I was shocked. It seemed so different. So corporate looking! In all its simplicity, the logo is made solely from text. A “C” is centered inside another backwards “C”, looking strangely like an incomplete copyright symbol. The network's name is also displayed, having the word “Central” upside-down to mimic the other switched up “C”.
It was hard to comprehend at first, but the logo totally grew on me... It's kind of humorous actually, which I guess is appropriate. The new logo looks structured and silly all at the same time. Also, as drastic as the changes to the logo are, the new logo still stays true to the circular imagery each of the old logos possess. Plus, so much can be done with this one. It can be scaled as big or small as you want, it's only one color so it makes it incredibly easy to incorporate on TV and print and it now has a nifty icon that is instantly recognizable.
Not everyone likes the new logo. Some people have made fun of it... But if the logo made you laugh somehow, didn't it do it's job?
Someone made up a twitter account for the logo. Needless to say, it's hilarious. Check it out.
Excellent post, Lisa. I'm a big fan of the new logo and this re-branding is something we'll touch upon later in the semester. With hit shows like Colbert Report and The Daily Show, the network is well balanced between animated shows, stand-up, original series, and "news" broadcasts – and I think the crisp, clean, all-encompassing logo does the trick.
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