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Comics and fandom are the center of Syfy Wire, the editorial brand for fans of sci-fi, fantasy and horror.
They’re also the foundation of its new rebrand, which combines the mantra “We’re obsessed too” with vintage comic aesthetics, elements from pop culture, and a fan-made feel.
Syfy tapped New York City-based creative studio Block & Tackle to spearhead the rebrand and reinterpret the Syfy master brand. Block & Tackle’s partners and creative directors Adam Gault and Ted Kotsaftis drew on the importance of genre fandom to the brand, as well as elements from sci-fi/horror/fantasy culture.
“It was important that the new identity captures the excitement and obsessiveness of geek culture,” Gault said in a statement. “Working closely with the team at Syfy, we developed a system that reworked the fonts, graphic devices, and colors from the Syfy master brand into a new, more expressive identity for Wire.”
SYFY WIRE Rebrand from BLOCK & TACKLE on Vimeo.
The Style Guide includes all aspects of the brand, including on-air packaging, website, social, and podcast designs, event signage, merchandising, and brand awareness. Block & Tackle also completed six animated packages for Syfy Wire’s franchise shows, a generic toolkit for future properties, and more.
“While the new brand has a distinct visual voice, the identity is really an ethos—a way of thinking and expressing the passions of genre fandom,” Kotsaftis said. “We provided tools for creating graphic content but only loose guidelines for how to use them. Designers approaching the brand have the freedom to express themselves in whatever way they want. It’s been amazing to see how the team at Syfy has been implementing and evolving the designs already.”
Syfy unveiled the rebrand at New York Comic-Com in early October; however, it is now being distributed on social media, franchise content, advertising, merchandising, and experiential content.
“The timing of New York Comic Con was perfect. We had already established the major elements of the identity, so designing billboards and decals for the convention center allowed us to put the new ideas to the test. Seeing the brand come to life at 60’x30’ was incredible, especially amidst the excitement and passion of the fans attending the event,” Gault said.
These fan-centric events also inspired the look and feel of the rebrand, Gault says.
“We were really inspired by the not-too-perfect, homemade feel of cosplay costumes… there’s energy, excitement, and love in those costumes, and we tried to capture all of that in our designs.”
“The Syfy Wire rebrand was a team effort with a forward-thinking client who was open to experimentation and out-of-the-box thinking, said Block & Tackle producer Dorian Carli-Jones. “We thrive when the process is open and collaborative, and the Wire team was willing to take that journey with us. We’re extremely grateful for the opportunity.”
Tags: block & tackle syfy syfy wire