RTL

RTL is developing from a successful German TV channel into one of Europe’s leading entertainment brands. In addition to video content, the brand comprises magazines, audio and digital services, and the RTL+ platform. All the different media formats have been consolidated under the guiding principle “RTL United” and the RTL brand subjected to a re-branding process. The key elements of the brand’s new visual appearance are the two-dimensional logo, consisting of three rectangles in a 16:9 format, and the three letters “RTL”. What is special here is that, instead of the previous brand colours of red, yellow and blue, the colour selection is now variable and, through the use of AI-assisted software, automatically adapts to the colours of the respective content. The jury judgment said, “The new RTL brand design is based on an innovative, less rigid interpretation of corporate design. The logo’s colours and position are based on what is happening around them. That gives it great freedom and a surprising simplicity: three elements are enough to hold everything together.” What was the biggest challenge you faced when re-branding RTL? RTL is a brand-world that has grown over a long time and is deeply embedded in the public consciousness. One important challenge was to preserve the visual force of the past and charge it with fresh purpose and a modern appearance. The other challenge was to develop a design system that makes it possible to scale the design for the different product touchpoints and across all channels. Consistency is a crucial factor here. This is made possible with a clear set of rules that guides the creatives and still leaves room for creative freedom. Three letters and three rectangles. The rest if flexible. How much courage does such an approach take, and was it difficult to persuade the stakeholders? It is certainly an unconventional approach, as unambiguity and recognisability are cornerstones of brand building. We deliberately made variation and variability a self-confident core feature of the RTL branding. The stakeholders were immediately on board with the idea. We own all the colours. The logo stands for diversity, inspiration and humanity. And yet it remains always recognisable, thanks to the three iconic boxes and the distinctive lettering. The logo is dynamic and adaptive to its environment, establishing a close connection between content and brand. The new design is both simple and extremely flexible. Which elements do you use to ensure that a consistent brand appearance is preserved? The key is our brand book and brand voice. Everything is precisely defined there. We have extremely pared down the design, which was one of the most difficult tasks. The elements we use must therefore be applied all the more consistently. For example, the way we use typography, font styles, size hierarchy and positioning, is all consistent and informs the appearance over the long term. A grid that is transferable to all touchpoints provides immediate recognition and orientation, from on-air to UX design. Limiting the use of colour to the logo and content is a strict yet clear rule, which makes RTL a de-facto black-and-white brand and gives the logo and content all the more radiance. Reduction as such defines the modern look. The entire RTL world is thus self-consistent. The brand is uniform in appearance and language.