Celebrating the messiness of everyday life
A brand that shakes up the conventions of telly
Dave is a unique British entertainment channel, conceived as the first broadcast disruptor. But, as the channel evolved into original and exclusive comedy, the brand identity no longer reflected the quality and tone of the content. Working closely with UKTV Creative, Output set out to capture the true spirit of Dave through an irreverent and playful system, shaking up the conventions of linear TV while future-proofing the brand for years to come.
Spurred on by Dave’s brand belief that ‘humour is a damn good antidote to the awkward mess that is modern life’, our aim was to provide direction for a brand which prods, pokes and subverts the world around us. Something that celebrates the joy of everyday reality, and helps you ‘find the funny’ through authentic observation of relatable moments.
Forget the super-slick category conventions of TV branding. In Dave’s world, mistakes can happen. Frailty is on show. Flaws are celebrated. This playful irreverence leads to unexpected moments, where the tone can shift from something deadpan to a blast of pure silliness. To build brand attribution, we devised a loose system that inspires UKTV Creative to keep things fresh and reactive within a recognisable look & feel.
The motion language also borrows from a life more ordinary, inspired by a popping toaster or an office printer. Our framework provides a variety of tools and assets for UKTV’s creative team to implement the brand on TV. But it also goes way beyond the screen on your wall, into all the scrappy places and moments comedy finds itself these days: openers and closers, on social, out of home and everything in between.
For Dave, the key to engaging new audiences is to show up in unexpected ways. The brand system encourages new behaviours and dynamic conversations, rather than a one-way broadcast. Familiar visual cues from everyday communications will extend the visual toolkit for future campaigns, turning viewers into contributors and bringing talent, shows and audiences closer together.
Thanks to its loose-fitting nature, the Dave brand is more than comfortable adapting to the ways we watch and interact with content. This comedic chameleon can flex, turn up and blend into different places. And, like the punchline of a good joke, it stays topical and reacts to what’s happening in the world. A daily antidote to whatever’s going on in the world, or our lives.
The brand was delivered as a set of guidelines which are heavy on inspiration and light on rules. With so many talented writers and designers on the team, this flexibility means UKTV can constantly add their own ideas to evolve and expand Dave’s toolkit. It’s a brand fit for modern life — as it actually is.
Some mock-ups of real-world examples are shown for illustrative purposes only. Those flyposters may or may not exist. And yes, we know the logo on that sweatshirt is printed upside-down.
“Output understood the brief from the get-go, and continued to challenge us throughout the process. Offering plenty of innovative ideas and executions along the way, each with a clear holistic approach. Dave’s fresh new look and design language helped to open up the ‘world’ of Dave — from telly and YouTube, to podcasts and TikToks.”
Peter Allinson
Head of Design, UKTV
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