Saudi TV, Saudi Arabia’s national broadcasting corporation, is to launch brand identities for its four core channels, created by Turquoise.

The consultancy was briefed to create a ‘bold new network mark for Saudi TV’, which will feature across its channels. In response, visuals have been designed which highlight each channel’s content.

The umbrella logo features the national Saudi symbol of palm tree and swords with a twist, while the logo and channel identities use the green colour of the national flag.

For flagship channel Saudi 1, Turquoise has created three idents using traditional dancing, architectural and technological imagery. The primary English language channel KSA2 features idents inspired by glass, reflecting different aspects of life in Saudi Arabia, while the sports channel Saudi 3 uses a series of fast-moving idents.

06 December 2007 : Read more...

Saudi TV, Saudi Arabia’s national broadcasting corporation, is launching striking new brand identities for its four core channels, created by international branding experts Turquoise.

The consultancy was briefed to create a ‘bold new network identity for Saudi TV’, which will feature across its channels. In response, visuals have been designed which highlight each channel’s content.

The umbrella brand mark features the national Saudi symbol of palm tree and swords with a twist, while the logo and channel identities use the green colour of the national flag.

For flagship channel Saudi 1, Turquoise has created three idents using traditional dancing, architectural and technological imagery. The primary English language channel KSA2 features idents inspired by glass, reflecting different aspects of life in Saudi Arabia, while the sports channel Saudi 3 uses a series of fast-moving idents.

06 December 2007 : Read more...

Lowdown on the Benchmarks Awards.

Design Week’s Benchmarks awards are now in their third year.

This year’s awards were held at the Waldorf Hilton, Aldwych, London on Tuesday 27 November.

The awards showcase the essence of great branding projects, which have worked across three or more platforms – from print to digital media, merchandising and exhibitions.

There were 51 entries shortlisted and 17 winners across 15 categories.

For further details, visit www.designweek.co.uk

The Telecommunications category went to telecoms provider Go, Malta’s first and only quadruple play operator, with its vibrant orange logotype created by Turquoise Branding.

29 November 2007 : Read more...

And the winners are...

Go - Turquoise Branding

When the services of four companies in Malta, including the previously state-owned telephone provider, came together, Turquoise Branding was chosen to develop its name and identity. The group had to find a way of overcoming any negative associations with the existing companies. Turquoise used the name ‘Go’ and created a vibrant orange logotype and a series of properties to reflect the new services.

du - Turquoise Branding

du, a new quad-play company based in the United Arab Emirates, asked Turquoise Branding to develop an identity for its brand to announce that it was a new competitor in the telecommunications market. This included everything from brand creation and strategy to its implementation. Turquoise has created a vibrant, multicoloured identity for the brand to communicate its attributes and reflect the breadth of its target customers.

29 November 2007 : Read more...

Turquoise has created the visual branding and strategy for Freedom4, the wireless broadband service being launched early next month by Pipex Communications and Intel Capital. The brand strategy centres around the proposition ‘liberating connectivity’.

22 November 2007 : Read more...

International branding consultancy Turquoise has appointed two new senior members of staff to work in its Dubai office and help the company to further build on its success in the Middle East region.

Paul Whitworth joins as General Manager – Dubai. He has over eight years’ advertising and branding experience gained in the Middle East. He has worked on through-the-line regional campaigns for leading FMCG brands including Kellog’s and Heinz, and has contributed to some of the region’s biggest homegrown brands, including Dubailand, The Palm Islands, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Etisalat and Bawadi. Whitworth joins Turquoise from brand management consultancy tmh, where he held the positions of Client Services Director and Direct of Brand Strategy. At Turquoise his remit will include further developing Turquoise into a major player among the region’s burgeoning design industry and growing the team.

Tulsa Woodham has been appointed as Account Director. He joins from tmh and has worked in branding and creative services for over seven years for both the business and consumer sectors, and across international and local markets. He has managed accounts from Multiplex, MFS Financial Services and Jones Lang Lasalle in Australia to Nakheel and Oman Tourism Corporation in the Middle East. Tulsa is a proven account leader adept at handling complex, evolving businesses across a wide variety of sectors.

02 October 2007 : Read more...

Linda Garcia takes her pick of the latest TV offerings.

The cast of BBC1’s The Dinner Party was a dazzling array of Britain’s finest acting talent, including Alison Steadman, Rupert Graves, Lee Evans and Alun Armstrong. It was eminently watchable, a darkly funny story of class rivalry, snobbery and jealousy unfolding towards an outrageously farcical but enjoyable ending. And, more importantly, it confirmed my beliefs about the suburbs and the need to stay firmly rooted in central London. It was great to see the return of a good one-off Sunday night drama on BBC1 – something that has been woefully missing from the BBC’s schedules just recently.

In an age of reality TV overload, Channel 4’s Deadliest Catch really is worth watching. Okay, it may not be completely original – it has been a popular series on the Discovery Channel for a while – but it is still compelling viewing. The series follows a group of fishermen on their quest to catch as many Alaskan king crabs as possible in the Bering Sea off the Alaskan coast.

It sounds pretty mundane until you realise how fierce the conditions are – 50-foot waves, freezing temperatures and back-breaking work – but how great the reward can also be. In a good year, an experienced deck hand working a short eight-week period can bring home almost $50,000 (£25,000). In one episode a boat capsizes and its captain and four of its crew are lost. The remaining fishermen hear the news but carry on, knowing all too well that the same fate could easily befall them.

At the other end of the reality spectrum, however, is Five’s MacIntyre’s Underworld in which reporter Donal MacIntyre talks to some of “Britain’s most notorious gang members”. I remember watching MacIntyre’s first documentaries in World in Action and on BBC1’s MacIntyre Undercover and being amazed by the lengths to which he was prepared to go in order to get his story.

But this series feels like the exact opposite. It’s staged and sensationalist. And in an age where there is an ever-increasing concern about the levels of gang violence on our streets, a series which talks to ex-gang members (and therefore, in some way, glamorises their behaviour) seems a little irresponsible. The stories do have an element of karma about them – not all is well for these ex-gang members.

However, there is little remorse expressed, and you get the feeling that, given their time again, they would have played out their life in exactly the same way.

Linda Garcia, Managing Director, Turquoise

14 September 2007 : Read more...

Wayne Holder reviews the First Great Western website.

It has recently won an award, so I wanted to look at First Great Western’s website. As a seasoned commuter, I have been largely disappointed by the design and reliability of similar sites. However, this site is worthy of praise. Its designers have prioritised ease of use, and have ensured that key information is easy to find, without compromising brand values. Navigation is simple – all key functions are aligned in the navigation button bar and are constant throughout my journey on the site. If only my train journeys were as straightforward! Additionally, the three main services I would expect most users to search for – train times, tickets, and live network updates – are available on every page. It has a user-centric design and there is even a Welsh-language section for customers at the western end of the line.

Minor complaints centre on some readability issues and, when printed, some pages lost key headers, so I was left with snippets of information devoid of context.

Nonetheless, it is hugely encouraging to see that, at last, web designers have grasped what good web design is all about. It is not about being cool, sexy, clever or even ground-breaking. It is first and foremost about providing the best tools to enable users to access information in a timely manner, and it is increasingly about being inclusive.

Wayne Holder, Digital Creative Director, Turquoise

26 August 2007 : Read more...

Branding consultancy Turquoise has created a fresh brand and identity for Malta telecoms service Go.

21 July 2007 : Read more...

The importance of internal communications.

Over the past year Corporate Edge has carried out corporate communications work for companies including Cadbury Schweppes and InterContinental Hotels & Resorts. Lake points out that good staff are especially important in service sectors such as leisure and financial services. And as these areas become more sophisticated in their marketing, employee engagement work will grow in importance.

This is a trend taking hold around the world. Turquoise has handled internal communications projects for clients including Saudi TV and Maltese telecoms firm Go. ‘Clients are realising that if there is no buy-in from staff, change won’t happen’, says Turquoise Managing Director Linda Garcia. ‘Just changing the logo means nothing’.

04 July 2007 : Read more...

Sharon Wheeler applauds the simplicity of Showtime’s rebrand.

Having worked on many network rebrands in the past we have found that the key to success is simplicity.

Showtime’s rebrand should therefore be a winner as it is simple, clean and effective.

Network branding solutions have multiple tasks to achieve; they need to unify all owned channel brands as a family while allowing enough creative flexibility for each channel to have its own personality and appeal to differing audiences. The solution also needs to create an on-screen presentation system that allows the network to push and pull viewers to programmes through a variety of channels, both on and off-screen, so as to keep viewers within the network franchise.

This kind of rebrand is an expensive process to go through so sustainability and the ‘stretch’ of a brand identity is paramount. TV brands exist in multiple environments and need to work across an incredible array of media and applications.

Showtime isn’t just a network of channels; it’s a gateway to a world of pay TV, so as well as working hard on screen, the Showtime brand must qualify in the retail sector.

Audiences need to choose this brand from a variety of available platforms and must also want to pay for it.

This is a tough challenge for any platform in a market where free TV is abundant.

In my view, Showtime does all of the above. I think it was smart of them to utilise the word ‘Show’ as an invitation to each channel: Showmovies, Showsport, etc.

This is an extremely ownable device. Plus, in such a cluttered marketplace, it is also very memorable and the names make it easier for viewers to identify which channels are right for them.

Creatively, the Showtime lozenge is a recognisable asset that has been modernised to reflect today’s TV environment and the typeface is strong and consistent. It’s nice to see a strong use of genre colours against a bold white background.

The mnemonics are quick and fun, making the overall viewing clean and allowing the viewer to focus on what’s really important, the content. In a market where ‘more is more’ the strapline of Maximum TV works well. It reflects maximum content, maximum value, maximum appeal.

As a branding solution we think the team has done a great job, let’s hope the content proposition lives up to the brand expectation.

Sharon Wheeler, Director, Turquoise

01 June 2007 : Read more...

Linda Garcia reviews katemosstopshop.com.

We’re in the midst of shopping mayhem at the moment. First it was the Boots cream that sold out the day after Panorama revealed it could knock 10 years off the average face. Then Anya Hindmarch’s £5 bags had people queuing at Sainsbury’s from 5am to prove they were committed environmentalists (ahem).

The Kate Moss for Topshop launch promised to be the biggest of them all, with the retailer’s Oxford Circus store closing its doors early to prepare for the arrival of the thousands of fans eager to snap up a Moss original and get a peek at the model herself.

What made this different was the inclusion of Topshop’s heavily promoted website, Katemosstopshop.com. Brand Moss, created by Peter Saville, influences the whole look and feel of the site. Interestingly, were it not for the Topshop endorsement under Moss’ logo you would not know you were on the store’s site at all.

For people like me who love Topshop by couldn’t face queuing up with a bunch of 14-year-olds, the ability to see her inspiration and buy from home was great, until I logged on at 10am to find everything had been sold! It almost gets away with it, though, as it adds to the ‘exclusivity’ of the collection. Mind you, with more than 5000 Moss items reportedly on eBay, I can still take my pick online.

By Linda Garcia, Managing Director, Turquoise

23 May 2007 : Read more...

Turquoise has been appointed by Italian mobile company Buongiorno to develop a brand strategy for its Blinko business.

05 April 2007 : Read more...