True Blood is an HBO drama series created by Alan Ball, based on Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire Mysteries novels, that premiered in September 2008. The show’s visual identity, including its title card and wordmark, was created by the Seattle-based creative studio Digital Kitchen, which also produced the series’ Emmy-nominated main title sequence. The studio was responsible for the opening titles of other notable HBO and Showtime series including Six Feet Under and Dexter. [1]
Design and History
The True Blood wordmark was rendered in an original font created by Digital Kitchen, based on southern-style road signage. [2] The type was designed by Camm Rowland, who made the letterforms by hand with simple tools and scanned them in to create the “True” family of fonts, eight in total. Two of these, “True Gothic” and “True Blade,” were used for the show, each with two weights and alternate characters for every letter to retain the nuanced variations and flaws of vernacular typography. [1]
According to Digital Kitchen creative director Matt Mulder, the “True” lettering was inspired by handmade signage seen on roadsides in the rural south, specifically crude, makeshift signs. Rowland also looked at post-Katrina signage, which Mulder described as having “a sense of urgency and honesty” that connected to the story of True Blood. [1]
The final logo reveal in the title sequence was developed by designer Ryan Gagnier, who created a “pulsing, skin-peeling, visceral experience” treatment that complemented the crude, DIY attitude of the type design. [1] The main title sequence was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Design in 2009, with the nominated team including creative director Matthew Mulder and main title producer Morgan Henry. [3]
Meaning and Symbolism
The design team approached the title sequence with the concept of exposing “the soft pink underbelly of rural stereotypes,” drawing on southern gothic influences and the writings of Harry Crews. Lead designer and concept co-creator Rama Allen described the central idea as “the whore in the house of prayer,” a balance of the sacred and profane coexisting that reflected the show’s narrative conflicts. [1]
Mulder noted that the team wanted to “saturate you with color and not be overly moody with it,” describing the show itself as “a kind of gumbo of flavors.” [3] The handmade, naive quality of the letterforms was intended to reflect the local dialect and culture of the rural south, with the urgency and honesty of the type connecting to the show’s themes. [1]
Typography and Design
The True family of fonts was created by type designer Camm Rowland, who made the letterforms by hand and scanned them into digital form. The fonts were designed with alternate characters for each letter, helping the type retain the nuanced variations and flaws characteristic of vernacular roadside signage. [1] The font copyright is credited to Digital Kitchen, LLC, with “True” designed by Camm Rowland. [4]
The title sequence was deliberately steered away from computer-aided effects in favor of live action footage and physical transitions involving Polaroid transfer technique, in the interests of the raw mood. [2] The production included hand-cut typeface and experimental tabletop liquid work, with footage shot on location in Louisiana, at a church in Chicago, and in a dive bar in Seattle. [5][1]
Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
