Animal Planet, the Discovery-owned wildlife and entertainment channel, introduced a new global brand identity in October 2018, designed by the New York-based firm Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv (CGH). The centerpiece of the rebrand is a leaping blue elephant, a fresh interpretation of the channel’s original elephant-and-globe mark that had been retired a decade earlier. The new identity was announced on October 16, 2018, with a phased rollout beginning October 28 in the U.S. and UK, followed by all remaining territories by the end of the first quarter of 2019. [1]
Design and History
Animal Planet launched in 1996 with a logo featuring an elephant playing with a globe, a mark that retained significant recognition and affection among audiences. [2] In 2008, the channel replaced that identity with a words-only logo designed by London-based Dunning Eley Jones, which eliminated the elephant and globe in favor of bold lettering intended to convey an “animalistic boldness.” [3] The 2008 mark debuted during the channel’s “Puppy Bowl” broadcast on February 3, 2008. [4]
Ten years later, Animal Planet appointed CGH to design a new global brand mark optimized for use across multiple platforms, responsive in digital applications, and flexible enough to allow the brand to diversify into products and services. [1] The new identity marked a shift in the channel’s mission, centered on “keeping the childhood joy and wonder of animals alive by bringing people up close in every way.” [5]
The design process was notable for defying the client’s initial directives. According to CGH partner Sagi Haviv, Animal Planet’s leadership explicitly requested “no elephants” and “no blue,” as those elements were seen as common identifiers of environmental charities and channels. [6] During the exploratory phase, CGH designer Scott Ahn presented a pencil sketch of a leaping elephant, an idea that captured the joy and energy the client was seeking. The firm assigned a bright blue color to the silhouette “to convey optimism and to emphasise a fresh direction for the brand.” [6] Despite the initial parameters, the client immediately gravitated to the leaping blue elephant concept. [7]
Meaning and Symbolism
The leaping elephant was conceived as a deliberately impossible image: “One of the heaviest mammals on Earth, leaping, it’s an irrational image,” Haviv explained. The concept combined an animal viewers associate with and remember with a motion that could never be seen in real life, creating a mark that was both fresh and rooted in the brand’s history. [8] The new logo was described as a reinterpretation of the original elephant-and-globe mark, with the leap putting “a playful and joyful spin on a simple image.” [9]
The color palette shifted from the greens of previous identities to blue and black. [9] Haviv noted that the blue was assigned to convey optimism and signal a fresh direction for the brand. [6]
Typography and Design
The new logo features a minimal blue silhouette of an elephant, which Haviv described as appearing “almost as a swoosh,” with the channel name set in a black, bold sans-serif typeface underneath, all in lowercase. [8] Although the primary application of the logo is blue, it also appears in white and black depending on the imagery, text, or communications it is used against, with the logotype changing color accordingly. [8]
Haviv emphasized that the mark functions as a silhouette and does not rely on color for recognition: “It has a lot of motion and a distinctive shape to it, so even if you see it very tiny or from far away, it still registers.” [8] The identity was designed to work across all of Animal Planet’s brand touchpoints, including merchandise, signage at events, online platforms, and broadcast, as the brand had extended from being “not only a [TV] channel” to “a whole lifestyle brand.” [8]
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