Foxtel is Australia’s subscription television and streaming company, operating under the Foxtel Group alongside brands such as Kayo, BINGE and Fox Sports.[1] Its visual identity has undergone several significant changes since the mid-2010s, moving from an all-caps orange wordmark to a lowercase mark with a pixelated icon, and later to a simplified uppercase logo.
Design and History
In June 2017, Foxtel launched a dramatically different new brand and logo as part of a “Foxtel for Everyone” strategy, symbolising a major turning point in the company’s delivery of content across multiple touchpoints.[2] The company partnered with Sydney design business Maud on the creation of the new visual identity, which was designed to better reflect Foxtel’s more open and inclusive service offering.[2] The new mark introduced a lowercase wordmark accompanied by a graphic of six dots forming an abstract “f”.[3]
Foxtel CEO Peter Tonagh explained the reasoning behind the rebrand: “Our previous logo was dark orange, perhaps very aggressive, big capital letters which could have been seen as quite loud and exclusive. What we have now we feel is much warmer and more welcoming and more inclusive.”[4] The new branding was created in collaboration with Maud, and the lower-case lettering and softer hues were part of a move to appear less arrogant than the former bright orange caps.[5]
Just 14 months later, in August 2018, Foxtel dropped the dots from its corporate logo. At the launch of its new 4K channel and iQ4 set-top box, the dots were nowhere to be seen, with new CEO Patrick Delany flanked by a simple “Foxtel” brand on an orange backdrop.[6] A spokesperson confirmed to TV Tonight that the dots were no more.[6]
On 22 October 2020, as part of the company’s 2021 upfronts, Foxtel introduced a new uppercase logo and visual identity.[7] The rebrand was developed by Balboa, which took inspiration from Foxtel’s mission to help guide viewers to programming they truly wanted to see, creating the brand idea “This Way”.[8] Balboa built the new identity from the natural arrows in the Foxtel logo, creating a system that spoke to helping people navigate the content wilderness.[8]
Meaning and Symbolism
The 2017 logo’s six-dot graphic formed an abstract “f”, with the dots expressing Foxtel’s delivery of more and richer content across multiple touchpoints.[3] The 2020 identity built on the natural arrow forms found within the Foxtel logo, using them to create a brand idea around helping viewers find their way to content.[8]
Typography and Design
The 2017 lowercase wordmark was designed by Maud as part of the broader visual identity.[2] The 2020 uppercase logo and visual identity was created by Balboa, which also developed the accompanying motion system.[8] FutureDeluxe separately collaborated with Foxtel to create a dynamic brand identity and motion system focused on expressing energy, diversity and modern entertainment through evolving textures, light and motion.[9]
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