It may barely be a year old, but TVNZ’s 100 percent local content channel Heartland has undergone a visual makeover, albeit nostalgic. The new look features a range of Kiwiana phrases embedded in some retro Kiwiana images designed by Jon Chapman-Smith from creative agency Fuman.
Creative directors at S-M, Daniel Martin and Scott Spicer, were commissioned by TVNZ for the project, with Spicer saying the new look “spotlights what the channel represents”.
Creating a “consistent touch point” across all areas of promotion, menu boards and the channel itself, Spicer says the intention was to create a brand people could “get instantly”.
“It’s nostalgia in a relevant way,” he says. “It’s a celebration of being Kiwi and what it means to be Kiwi.”
The new look, already clearly visible on the channel’s website, comes equipped with four illustrations — a fantail, a cup of tea, a red tractor and the tomato-shaped tomato sauce dispenser — each carrying sayings that include ‘hunky dori’, ‘sweet as’ and ‘ happy as Larry’.
“They’re built out of a common vernacular,” comments Spicer.
Chapman-Smith, commissioned by S-M to execute the designs, says classic Kiwiana is “all the rage at the moment”.
He says texture, together with faded colour, was applied to the images to give them a retro feel. Both Chapman-Smith and Spicer agree the images lend themselves nicely to potential t-shirts and even tea towels applications, but whether that will happen remains to be seen.
As for the channel itself, ratings seem to be on the up with July resulting in the channel’s highest monthly cume reach since ratings information has been available on the channel. TVNZ says it achieved a cume reach of over 457,000 in the 25-54 demographic— the highest reach since November last year.
