Amongst his most celebrated works are: the original Channel 4 logo and idents created in 1982; the ground-breaking batch of 30+ idents for BBC Two that first aired on February 16, 1991; and the 1997 corporate rebrand for the whole BBC. He, in conjunction with his agency, also created launch packages for certain other BBC channels.
Early work
Martin was educated at University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury. His career in television began in the 1960s as a temp at the BBC. Roles as a graphic designer at Rediffusion, ITN and London Weekend Television followed. Martin set up his own company, Robinson Lambie-Nairn, with fellow partner Colin Robinson in 1976 after leaving LWT, and he went on to develop new graphic presentation techniques for Weekend World. To coincide with the business' substantial expansion the company was renamed Lambie-Nairn & Company in 1990.
Following the success of Channel 4 and Spitting Image, he worked as a director of computer animated commercials, producing the first ever 30 second computer generated
The BBC years
For nearly 12 years in the 1990s and after he became consultant creative director at the BBC, his first relationship with the BBC since his early career with them as a temp in the 1960s. During this period Martin and his company designed a series of what were to become phenomenally successful idents for the BBC, including those shown on BBC Two that were talked about as much as the programmes and commissioned by then-controller Alan Yentob. Most of the idents in this set and additional idents that were added later in the series' run were mainly practical and employed traditional camera methods, with the CGI-generated Optics ident being the notable exception. Meanwhile, for BBC1 he forsook computer animation in favour of these camera methods to remake its popular globe ident, replacing the previous ident, the Computer Originated World.In 1997, he wrote Brand Identity for Television: With Knobs On, which was illustrated with colour stills, models and preliminary sketches from his own notebooks. He used the book to reveal how key identities, symbols and sequences from his career were achieved.
He would be appointed again by the BBC that year to design and build the famous red hot air balloon that was used for a new series of idents aired on BBC One from October 4, which aimed to capture the idea that the channel gave a view of what was happening all over Britain, and more idents for BBC Two that also began on October 4. He also co-conceived the Rhythm & Movement idents for BBC One first shown on March 29, 2002. In 2001, he worked with American visual effects technician Mic Graves to co-design BBC Two's 2001-2007 Personality 2s series of idents, which featured robotic figure 2s, each displaying individual personalities, which went on the air on November 18. Martin also designed ident packages for BBC News 24 (now called BBC News), BBC Choice, CBeebies, CBBC and BBC Four.
Biography & Main Areas of Research Interest
Martin Lambie-Nairn is one the world’s leading authorities on television brand identity. His narrative is laced with rich experience. He entered the world of commercial television in the swinging, money-spinning Sixties, pioneered new graphic presentation techniques in the current affairs broadcasting in the Seventies, and in the Eighties produced a revolutionary computer-animated identity for Channel 4, which was to have a profound impact on television graphic design worldwide. In the nineties he has gone on to reposition BBC1 and BBC2, winning a host of design awards in the process, and has spread his activities to work for television stations in Europe, Scandinavia, New Zealand and the United States.
Television Identity
BBC
ThreeLambie-Nairn has created the identity for BBC Three, the latest
AlhurraWe have created the identity for US-funded Middle East TV station. The channel identity uses the symbol of the Arab horse to reflect the meaning behind the channel name ‘The Free One’. Using this unique and powerful visual treatment we have created an entire on and off air identity for the channel, including idents, stings, an on-screen presentation system,
CBBC &
CBeebiesCBBC and the new CBeebies channels required a look and feel that would reflect and meet the diverse needs of children. Focusing on one of the universal themes of childhood – kids feeling ‘in control’, our creative idea aims to position both channels as an adult –free place. The identities created needed to stimulate, surprise and be the fun friend who gives you access to different worlds. Overall, the channels aim to be infectious viewing for kids. From this point, our creative core thought was, ‘its alive and it’s catching’, which led to the creation of brightly coloured amorphous creatures that would interact, play and disrupt to build a reputation of the naughty child of BBC.
Discovery
Kids on NBCLambie-Nairn not only designed and created the brand sequences and on-screen presentation system for the new
News Identity
BBC NEWSWe have rebranded the BBC’s entire news output to reassert its pre-eminent position in Britain’s news landscape and support the brand positioning of ‘truth well told’. The motif of the transmitting signals is infinitely flexible to work across all the BBC’s brands in the genre and can be adapted with relevant place names for local, regional, national and global news. The core components of BBC NEWS now reflect consistently the agreed identity. Includes separate identities for BBC Nations and Regions, BBC BREAKFAST, BBC NEWS 24, BBC News English Regions.
Reuters TelevisionReuters Television – seen around the world and originating from production centres on three continents – lacked clarity and visual consistency. The existing logo was technically ineffective on-screen. We created a new logotype suitable for both television and computer screens and a brand identity which was consistent, practical to implement and which maintained existing brand attributes and equity established by the company to date.
Corporate Identity
O2
When BT decided to demerge its wireless business from the parent company they needed a new name and identity for the separately quoted business. The first requirement was to create a name for the new business. We followed our process to distil the core thought: essential for living. As a result, we developed the name O2 for the consumer and business-to business-brand. We started by considering how best to depict oxygen and decided to use water as a vehicle to illustrate O2 in the form of bubbles. This became one of the most significant brand properties and once again researched extremely well in all territories.
BBCThe key strategic objective for the BBC was to prepare and position itself for the digital age. Our task was not only to create a re-branding system that worked consistently across every part of the organisation but also to create a system which allowed for growth as new brands were created. At the heart of the identity is the re-design of the BBC logo, a new typeface (Gill Sans) and a new system of branding whereby personality is not conveyed through logos but by the creation of visual properties (e.g. BBC One’s ‘balloon’, the BBC Two ‘Performing 2’s etc.)
Digital Media
ntl:homeNTL:home is the consumer based service of the UK’s leading cable operator, offering internet, television and telephony access via one cable line. The consumer proposition developed focuses on ‘the only connection you will ever need which gives you faster richer access to everything and everyone you want’. Our creative work centres around the idea of being ‘always connected’, using illustrations to communicate the service, bundling offers, genre. The identity also has to work across different media and platforms including iTV.
Music ChoiceMusic Choice is a digital music channel broadcasting audio and data 24 hours a day via the internet and digital satellite and cable platforms with no interruption from commercials or DJs. The big idea behind the identity comes from the proposition 'The Centre for Great Music' which gave us the target device for the logotype. This logotype is supported by a 'Paint Splash' which expresses the vibrancy and passion associated with music.
Sponsorship and Events
PowerGenPowerGen began to sponsor ITV’s National Weather 10 years ago in order to maintain a high level of awareness amongst the general public at a time when the electricity market was becoming increasingly competitive. Lambie-Nairn created both the first set of sponsorship sequences in 1993 and also the current sequences. These use lavish costumes and sophisticated special effects, drawing on a wide range of different cultures and nationalities to evoke startling characterisations.
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