The CGTN America’s Digital Team wanted to connect more with the Gen-Z audience. We found they could do just this by creating a presence on TikTok! The team was quick and created NewsToks as their username. In contrast, the creative team worked hard on designing an engaging logo so people could identify them more easily online - which turned out beautifully when all was said and done!
On the left is the original logo created for the brand. We found that many people could not read the name very well. On the right is the redesigned logo. Using a navy background and a sans-serif font helped make it much easier to read, especially in small sizes like the TikTok profile picture.
The constraint of an in-house design team is that often, you must work within the constraints of a house font. Our main goal was to make the new wordmark more legible in small sizes. Luckily for me, DIN is a greatly readable font, and the condensed version helped add a touch of seriousness to add legitimacy to our journalist stories.
The radiating circles became the brand's main motif, which became useful when it came to animated elements of the brand package.
The primary logo lockup uses a navy background.
A one-color version of the logo for light and dark background applications. For a new brand, it's important to design a versatile brand that can be legible and consistent in different sizes and applications.
Below are examples of the logo's appearance on large external signage and small applications like a microphone. This helps create a unified look and feel across our entire coverage.
The simplicity of the NewsToks logo makes it easily readable across a large building, as well as on exterior signage and a microphone cover.
Microphone covers are extremely important for identifying journalists in the field and sometimes act as a form of visual credential to cover a story. Ie. World Economic Forum or IMF Spring Meetings.
Examples of the NewsToks logo are on merch for the team and in an online store. Designing a logo that can be one color is important for eco-friendly merchandise like tote bags. Using less ink/color is a more eco-friendly option.
Covering natural disasters like hurricanes, floods, and landslides is a dangerous but necessary part of the job. Providing weather-appropriate gear is always a must.
An example of what the NewsToks logo could look like on a camera crew van.
A close-up look of how the NewsToks logo would be embroidered.
