Yle gets dynamic brand update centered around elements in revamped logo

Finland’s national public broadcaster, Yle, had its first total makeover in a decade, introducing new branding, studio design, motion graphics, and theme music that, when combined, create a clean, elegant, and dynamic feel across news, sports and current affairs programming. 

The updates debuted on June 10, 2024, and started with an updated logo design. 

The square box with rounded corners and “Yle” wordmark, still set in the same distinctive letters, remains, but the word for the specific division is now set in a more geometric typeface. 

This does cause the logo design to lose its quirky “Us” that aligned more with the Yle logotype’s more restrained strokes. Instead, the division’s name has become more solid with bold strokes, with two “Us” that, while a bit more bland, still stand out, as do the two “Ts” in the name. The wordmark also shifts from all caps to all lowercase.

Notably, the new color scheme centers around violet, which was chosen for its warmth and distinction, according to the design team.

Meanwhile, that dot and the square with rounded corners have been mixed into the on-screen and on-set graphics.

Advertisement

Despite an overall flat look stocked with solid and gradient backgrounds, the design manages to convey a sense of depth thanks to the use of these shapes as floating in a layered field with subtle changes in transparency. The boxy elements also morph around the screen, changing shape and size as needed, allowing larger ones to become portals to showcase topical imagery.

Circular dots and smaller squares are often incorporated into the corners of these frames, seemingly tugging and pushing on the corners as they shift and change size.

In other cases, the shapes are more on the periphery, with movement often choreographed along with other motion. 

Another take on these elements is a pill-like element often used as a label or flag with text inside it. 

Video wall graphics frequently use subtle takes on this concept along with a graphic or imagery added in and cropped with rounded corners.

Motion Graphics

Yle

View a gallery of this project…

In some uses, the gradient and colored backgrounds have imagery switched to monochrome and overlayed to keep the color palette consistent. These looks can also feature moving “windows” that allow the background image to shine more prominently. 

Redesigned inserts, such as the lower third, continue the minimalist theme, with dark gray-violet rectangles serving as a container for headlines and a pill label.

Identifiers are much narrower and feature two simple tiers. Both insert graphics are just above a white ticker set next to a logo bug.

View on Giphy

There are also unique looks available for different dayparts and shows, including a deeper, more sophisticated red-violet look for panel show “A Studio.” 

This show slices the circle in half and explores the notions of multiple perspectives and back-and-forth, an appropriate theme for the show.

Advertisement

View on Giphy

Sports gets a more primary-based color scheme and reimagines the shapes in several ways. First, they engage in brief interplay, creating an active feel. The rectangular element is also tilted to one side, conveying an additional sense of movement and motion. Angles are also found in the sports franchise logotype and video wall backgrounds.

View on Giphy

Mornings get a pale yellow accent, suggestive of the sun, while the half circle is interpreted here as a sunrise. Like with much of the other use of shapes, the messaging here isn’t overly obvious, speaking the overall subtly and elegance of the new look.

Broadcast studio and facility upgrades

The new set, designed by iconic British set designer Jago Design, known for its work for the BBC, also builds on the idea of layering, with multiple LED walls that stand partially in front of one another.

Approached in 2022, the project includes the primary studio, a matching studio for Swedish language programming and a disaster recovery studio; with the spaces serving programming across news, sports, weather and current affairs. 

This includes a partially freestanding unit with a gray frame that resembles the rounded corners in the graphics. Another freestanding vertical array also features this border.

Set Design

Yle

View a gallery of this project…

LED walls in 1.2mm to 2.5mm pixel pitch form most backgrounds, and the various segments create both continuous and segmented animated backgrounds. In some instances, the separate arrays appear to be treated essentially as one, with elements nearly seamlessly moving from one to another. On the other hand, some options let each segment have a distinct animation that does not interface with adjacent graphics.

Graphics across the walls are powered by Viz Engine 5 with automation from two Viz Mosart systems.

The space is also highly flexible, with options for a standing-height anchor desk or less formal sit-down furniture depending on the show or segment. 

The studio is outfitted with track-based Telemetrics robotic cameras that enable the broadcaster to capture smooth, moving shots. In some cases, the tracks are visible on the floor surrounding talent in wide shots but, in many ways, come across as part of the design.

Advertisement

YLE and Jago Design worked closely to position the tracks to enable eight cameras to shoot the space including the desk, portrait screens, weather position and discussion area. 

Behind the scenes, the upgrades include four new production control rooms using a SMPTE 2110 workflow. 

For content management, YLE opted for Viz One, Vizrt’s flagship MAM system to handle the ingest of still images and export to Viz Pilot Edge, which they also upgraded for the new studio. Viz Pilot Edge is an HTML-based newsroom graphics system that creates, manages and delivers news coverage using templated graphics. 

Project Credits

• Set design by Jago Design with Sandra Fattore as senior designer
• Set fabrication by “Paga”
• Lighting design by Mitja Harvilahti of YLE
• LED from TDC Polska
• Camera robotics by Telemetrics