Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, universally known as ZDF, is Germany’s second public television broadcaster, launched in 1963. The network’s visual identity has evolved through several distinct phases, from a competition-winning mark in 1963 to the current logo introduced in 2001, which has remained in continuous use for over two decades.
Design and History
ZDF’s design history began with a logo competition held before the broadcaster went on air in 1963, judged by experts from the Bund Deutscher Gebrauchsgraphiker. The first prize went to Woldemar Hörnig for a mark featuring a Roman numeral two combined with two eye-shaped rays. The ZDF brand guide describes this first logo as symbolizing two eyes combined with a Roman two. All program titles at the time were individually designed. [1] [2]
In 1973, designer Otl Aicher, shortly after his landmark work for the Munich Olympics, developed the first comprehensive corporate design system for ZDF. This included custom typefaces optimized for television that would remain in use for nearly three decades, along with a new ZDF logogram. [3] [2]
The current ZDF logo was created in 2001 by the New York-based design agency Razorfish, which won a pitch for a comprehensive redesign. The Frankfurt agency Das Werk handled the on-air implementation of the concept. The new identity introduced orange as the network’s house color, replacing the previous blue, and established a clear layout for the parent brand. [1] [4] [5]
The 2001 redesign was led at Razorfish by creative director Bob English. The project earned recognition at the Eyes and Ears Awards 2001, where ZDF’s logo IDs won in the network identity category. [6] [7]
Meaning and Symbolism
The current ZDF logo plays on the visual similarity between the letter “Z” and the number “2” (zwei in German), reflecting the broadcaster’s name as the “Second German Television.” The mark is set in the Handel Gothic typeface, in which the 2 and Z look extremely similar. [2]
The first logo from 1963 carried a different symbolism: the mark combined a Roman numeral two with two eye-shaped rays, a concept the ZDF brand guide describes as representing two eyes. [1]
Typography and Design
The current ZDF logo is set in Handel Gothic, a typeface in which the characters “2” and “Z” are visually nearly identical, a feature central to the logo’s concept. [2] The official ZDF house color introduced with the 2001 redesign is orange, specified as Pantone 151 C in the network’s logo usage guidelines. [8]
In 2021, ZDF introduced a new on-air design with a custom typeface family developed by bBox Type from Potsdam in 54 cuts, but the logo itself remained unchanged. [2]
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