​Emily Oberman has designed the logo for SNL’s 25th anniversary and its 35th anniversary, as well as the on-air identity for 30 Rock and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and most recently was asked back into the Lorne Michaels umbrella for one of her biggest projects to date: design the logo, show open and overall look for Saturday Night Live’s landmark 40th season.

Fast Company took a deeper look at the anniversary’s revamp, speaking to Emily Oberman, partner at Pentagram, who was inspired by the city of New York when working on the new look.

“I’m very immersed in the lore of the show,” said Oberman. “I think I’ve seen every show ever; I remember tuning into the very first episode, which opened a door for comedy that has stayed open for me ever since. So this is one of the things in life that I feel like I’m uniquely qualified to do.”

The show open, below, was created as a love letter to New York - using neon signage and quick cuts to evoke the feeling of walking the streets of the city. The new logo, incorporated into the open and overall look, was created so that it is recognized in any arrangement, so that each word can be moved around to achieve the same understanding of the iconic words, Saturday Night Live.

The open also took on a new perspective, looking down on the city instead of past years’ looks, which have been shot at ground level. The sequence was originally supposed to be shot in black and white, partly in homage to Woody Allen’s film, Manhattan, but the city’s natural color won out in the end.

Most importantly, according to Oberman, is that the SNL open is not part of the show itself. It’s simply a blank canvas where the weekly sketches can begin, but it’s not trying to be part of the comedy.

“The Saturday Night Live intro is solemn, and that’s very deliberate,” said Oberman. “The show is whatever the writers have made it that week. Sometimes it’s good, sometime it’s less so, but the intro isn’t pulling focus to itself. It’s just the overture, setting the stage for the show to follow: you’re in New York, it’s nighttime, and everything’s live. But we’re definitely not trying to tell you that the show you’re about to watch is going to be funny. It just is, and it’s going to be whatever it’s going to be.”

Read more at Fast Company.

Brief Take: SNL’s 40th year is iconic all by itself, but Pentagram has built on its long-standing relationship with the brand to re-work the look to reflect on the show’s present and its iconic past.

[Image courtesy of SNL]

Tags:


  Save as PDF