The Pentagram team behind Channel 4’s masterbrand give us an in-depth tour of the extensive project

When it comes to big branding challenges, we’re used to witnessing the final part, the end result. But for a pivotal moment in British TV history – the rebranding of the beloved rogue of a station, Channel 4 – we felt that it was appropriate to give this project the full dissection it deserves. We spoke to the five members of the core Pentagram team for C4 – Luke Powell (Partner & Creative Director), Nav Bhatia (Associate Partner & Producer), Jack Llewellyn (Associate Partner & Designer), Luis Gutiérrez (Technical Director & Motion Designer) and Alice Sherwin (Designer) – who unpack this massive undertaking of a project. PT: First of all, how does it feel to see the new identity out in the world? LP: We have been living and breathing Channel 4 for 1.5 years – so finally seeing it IRL has been exciting. This has been one of the largest projects we’ve taken on in terms of scope and range; requiring us to constantly zoom in and out, checking that the core ideas tying the system together at a macro level remain intact, whilst always making sure that every micro design detail is lovingly crafted. With so many components, technicalities and stakeholders, keeping focus at both levels has been challenging. But seeing that the system we have built not only works, but is holding up against whatever new issues get thrown at it feels like a real achievement for us and everyone involved.