BBC One is the flagship television channel of the BBC airing across the UK, and the oldest and most popular TV channel in the country. It was founded in 1936 as the BBC Television Service, then renamed to BBC1 with the launch of BBC2 in 1964, and adopted its current name in 1997.
BBC Television Service[]
1936–1939[]
LOGO MISSING
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Unknown
Launched:
November 2nd, 1936
BBC One was initially launched as BBC Television Service on November 2nd, 1936.
Due to the start of World War II, the service was suspended on September 1st, 1939.
1946–1953[]
SVG NEEDED
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Unknown
Launched:
June 7th. 1946
The BBC Television Service returned on 7 June 1946[1].
1953–1960[]
Designer:
Abram Games
Typography:
Unknown
Launched:
December 2nd, 1953
The first proper logo for the BBC Television Service was unveiled on December 2nd 1953, consisting of this elaborate mechanical device designed by Abram Games, nicknamed "Bat's Wings".
BBC Television[]
1960–1963[]
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Washington
Launched:
October 1960
By October 1960, the "Bat's Wings" had been superseded by the BBC TV blocks.
1963–1964[]
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Washington
Launched:
September 30th, 1963
BBC TV adopted its most famous symbol, the globe, and modified blocks on September 30th, 1963.
BBC1[]
1964–1966[]
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Washington
Launched:
April 21st 1964
With the launch of BBC2 on April 21st 1964, the BBC Television Service became BBC1.
1966–1969 (primary), 1969–1972 (secondary)[]
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Washington
Launched:
April 18th, 1966
1969–1972[]
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Washington (BBC1) Helvetica (COLOUR)
Launched:
November 15th, 1969
On November 15th, 1969, BBC1 began broadcasting in colour and started advertising colour programming in the logo. The 1966 logo continued to be used before black-and-white programming.
1972–1974[]
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Washington (BBC1) Unknown (COLOUR)
Launched:
Unknown
1974–1981[]
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Futura Bold
Launched:
Late 1974
1975–1981 (secondary), 1981–1985 (primary)[]
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Unknown
Launched:
Mid-1975 (secondary) September 5th, 1981 (primary)
On September 5th, 1981, the twin-stripe version that had been used on programme slides and promotional trailers since mid-1975. Much tweaking was made to this logo during its first nine months on air as a result of problems arising with the colour scheme and the size and position of the mirror globe and legend.
1985–1991[]
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Unknown
Launched:
February 18th, 1985
At 7pm on February 18th, 1985, the new identity called Computer Originated World was introduced, replacing the mechanical globe used since 1969. The launch was originally planned on January 1st, but was delayed to coincide with a larger schedule change.
BBC1 was renamed BBC One during the 1997 corporate rebrand. The new ident received a facelift as a balloon, which was created by Lambie-Nairn on 4 October 1997.
On 29 March 2002, BBC One introduced a new look which saw the globe motif disappear from its idents after almost 40 years. A new idents package called Rhythm & Movement was introduced on that day, featuring people in various form of dance and movement. The logo was also altered to match the one already used by BBC Two since 2001, which used Gill Sans, as well as the new channel BBC Four, launched earlier in March 2002. Lambie-Nairn were also behind this new look.
“The new channel idents explore the universal theme of rhythm, dance and movement through different activities, moods and world cultures. From the power and grace of a Brazilian dance to the raw energy of a festival, from the high elegance of ballet to the speed and agility of basketball players, the idents bring a new feel to BBC ONE.”
“We aim to capture the essence of the new spirit that is alive on BBC ONE, and reflect it in the new channel’s new identity. Whatever your age, wherever you live and whoever you are, rhythm and movement are common to everyone. BBC ONE should have that same universal appeal.”
— Lorraine Heggesey, controller of BBC One (BBC press release)
On 7 October 2006, BBC One introduced a new logo, featuring a large lower case "one" with a smaller BBC logo to the upper left, effectively appearing as "BBC one", and a new set of idents called Circles. The Circles ident package was announced on 26 September 2006 as the replacement for the 'Rhythm & Movement' idents that had been in use since Easter 2002. The previous idents were disliked by a large amount of the population, and when Peter Fincham became controller of BBC One, he hinted in August 2005 that the dancers would be changed soon.
“It may well be that the time is coming to look at a new way of doing it. No date or direct decision has been made but it's under review.”
— Peter Fincham, controller of BBC One, at the Edinburgh International Television Festival.
The idents themselves were designed and produced for the BBC by Red Bee Media and marking the end of Lambie-Nairn's time at the BBC after fifteen years.
All the idents revolved around a circular theme and all featured a scene which is revealed to end in a circle formation. The circle symbol was decided upon as a 'symbol of unity', but it was also a 'nod' towards the classic globe used in previous years. The idents would involve people, plants or animals moving, or whose interaction causes a circular shape, which is revealed at the end of the ident. The circle would then be emphasized by swirls animating around it and revealing the BBC One logo at the end. The channel uses this logo on its idents and promotions, however in cross-promotions, it uses a box logo, similar to the last look, but with the lowercase 'one' typeface.
As with the previous look, no clock ident was used, a trend repeated across nearly all other channels in the UK; however the Generic, Helicopter, Capes and Kites idents may also be used for introduction into the news, following criticisms in the previous look that the dancers didn't have an ident suitable for this purpose.
On 2 May 2009, all the idents were made shorter with new adaptations of the original Imran Hanif music, with the exception of Generic, Hippos and Surfers. These changes were permanent and no original-length idents have been used since.
A new set of idents were introduced on 1 January 2017, replacing the Circles ident package while retaining the 2006 logo. Named 'Oneness', they were created by photographer Martin Parr and produced with help of BBC Creative. These idents have been met with negative reviews, as they are regarded as bland with little creativity in them.
As part of the BBC’s broadcaster-wide rebrand on 20 October 2021, BBC One introduced a new logo for the first time since 2006; while the previous Oneness set of idents were used for the first few months into the rebrand, a new set of idents was later launched on 1 April 2022. Like the other BBC channels, the new logo uses the proprietary BBC Reith typeface.
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