Notable Channel 5 TV station logo designs

We’ve now made it to the number five in our “Design By Numbers” series, so here are our picks for some of the best Channel 5 logos.

WCVB-TV

Hearst’s Boston station WCVB-TV has one of the most unique Channel 5 logos out there. The logo counts on several shapes and negative space to form the “5” in its logo.

The result is a sort of mix between retro, neon and spacecraft inspired lettering.

According to station legend, the logo designer didn’t realize that the logo has a hidden inside of (it has a curled “tail” and points to the upper left) but someone at the station spotted it during the creative brief. The designer quickly latched on and claimed it was intended to be there.

KING-TV

Another unique Channel 5 logo is KING-TV in Seattle (which also happens to be part of what is perhaps the most clever pair of call signs in the country: KING-TV and KONG-TV).

The station’s “5” numeral by itself is rather uninspired, but it’s the use of the “K” that really makes it stand out. The station, which brands on air as KING 5 (as in “king five”), is stylized to create an abstract crown. The three dots atop the left vertical stroke are homage to jewels, while the separate top section hint at the rim of a crown.

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One way the logo perhaps could have been improved is to refine the strokes of the “5” a bit more to better fit into the pointed notch of the “K” rather than rather awkward negative space that’s there now.

KOAA-TV

KOAA-TV, Cordillera Communications’s NBC affiliate in Colorado Springs, Colo., uses an interest spin on a circular TV station logo.

The station uses the lower curved of the “5” as part of the lower part of the circle, meaning the red circle itself is only visible above here. The upper cross stroke of the “5,” meanwhile, extends outside of the circle, giving the logo a feeling of forward motion.

WNEM-TV

WNEM-TV, the Meredith owned CBS affiliate in Flint, Mich., has a logo that’s a big departure from the others featured here.

The five is an almost script-like character that’s also reminiscent of a winding river, perhaps a nod to river of the same name that flows through downtown Flint.

The logo’s color scheme is also unique — where most stations tend to gravitate more toward bright and bold colors, WNEM-TV uses a darker green and blue — that sometimes looks almost black.

Meanwhile, the CBS eye is artfully placed in the negative space left by the downward curve of the “5.”

This post is part of a semi-regular series on NewscastStudio that takes a look at TV station and network logos that include the numbers 1 and up. These posts aren’t meant to be a comprehensive list of all logos featuring the number in question, but rather a look at notable logos with creative, historic or an otherwise significant impact on branding design. If you have other logos with the number featured in this post, feel free to share it in the comments and stay tuned for a “reader’s favorites” version of this post coming soon.