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Pretty surreal, huh? This is the official Nickelodeon logo guide from the ’90s, designed to keep one of the most versatile symbols in television history on track. For those of us in our twenties, it’s a little weird to think that while we were watching The Adventures of Pete and Pete, there were a bunch of grown-ups worrying about Pantone swatches and drop shadows. It’s perhaps even more bizarre that many of us now worry about Pantone swatches and drop shadows ourselves (while continuing to watch The Adventures of Pete and Pete).
The Nickelodeon identity was created by the same people behind MTV’s generation-defining logo, and it shows–just as MTV needed the visual flexibility to keep up with ever-changing music trends, Nickelodeon needed a way to reflect the spontaneity and imagination of their programming. In both cases, the result was not so much a traditional “bug” but a more modular core that could be modified, rearranged and repackaged indefinitely while remaining surprisingly memorable.
It’s ironic, though, that while branding as an art form has exploded in the last decade, it’s also starting to feel more like an engineering discipline than anything else: less about creativity and more about rules. And maybe it’s always been that way. But while Nickelodeon’s logo guide drives home its share of dos and don’ts, it also gives designers an unusually big world to explore.
My point is that while brands tend to live and die by their consistency, it’s worth remembering that two of the most iconic logos in the pop culture lexicon were built with the goal of constantly changing. I think it’s an interesting lesson, easy as it may be to forget while a client is breathing down your neck. But we can all probably think of a few trademarks that would do well with a little less order and a little more good-natured chaos.
Lastly, check out this blog post by one of the creative directors in the mix at the time. It’s a really interesting read, especially the bit about the uncertainty surrounding the decision to call a children’s TV network “Nickelodeon” in the first place.