SABC3 is finally responding about the SABC TV channel's sudden, new on-air look that viewers and TV critics call "ugly", "unimaginative" and "dreadful", saying the look is "the start of someting new and fresh" and that the new look signals "the beginning of a turnaround in fresh new ideas and content for SABC3".
SABC3 is finally responding about questions regarding the SABC's only commercial TV channel's new look days after it was suddenly introduced with no warning or explanation - and which has been instantly panned by viewers.
SABC3 says the "colour pallet is colour-appropriate" - although viewers intensely dislike the new look which they feel is old, dated, flat and a major step backwards for the ratings-challenged TV channel.
Unlike when SABC1 and SABC2 changed their on-air looks and logos, the SABC and SABC3 failed to issue a style guide or basic brand change advisory to the press prior to, or when, the change happened and didn't respond to media enquiries seeking clarity following the change.
While SABC3 ditched its sparking and elegant spinning blue and white circles-within-circles design because it was apparently not good enough anymore, premium pay-TV broadcaster M-Net - SABC3's biggest competitor for high LSM viewers and advertisers - took over the exact design idea.
On M-Net viewers can now see blue and white spinning circles for its "Express from the US" on-air promos which M-Net now uses to market its premium American content.
Now SABC3's channel head Aisha Mohamed says the new SABC3 on-air look - a far departure from the previous two SABC3 logos and on-air imaging used the past decade - "identifies a clear and simple brand proposition, a multi-dimensional look with depth, innovative treatment and distinctive sound design".
"This is where the pay-off line 'Fine it on 3' was born. We are promising to reflect a young and modern South African television viewer through programming in one place".
Aisha Mohamed says the new SABC3 logo's aesthetic was inspired by "contemporary global design trends" - a "move out of the circle, no rules, versus evolution".
"The logo is simple but not simplistic, it has a surprising interplay between positive and negative shapes with the '3' figure constructed from three shapes".
"The idea was to find a symbol that could be a little surprising every time viewers saw it. The chosen colour pallet is colour-appropriate and functional for all screens," says Aisha Mohamed.
"SABC3 went for unexpected, brave, young (but not too young) multi-colour schemes to reflect a sense of variety".
"This is complemented by an airsoft typeface that allows a clear, easy on the eye communication but with a friendly approach. The on-screen visual identity expresses the idea of variety through its dynamism and multi-dimensional treatment – something that isn't done on any other station"
Aisha Mohamed says SABC3 plans to become a TV channel "providing the excitement of one long variety show where viewers can expect to find shows that cover a range of experiences - Be it new, informative, inspiring, riveting and entertaining".
"In a nutshell, viewers can expect a place where their viewing entertainment expectations are met, thus – 'Find it on 3' ".
