Border Television choose a Symbol 

2 June 2020 tbs.pm/70338

Masthead of The Stage

From The Stage and Television Today for 15 December 1960

OVER 100 designs were submitted for the Border Television station identification symbol. The Company took into consideration various literary symbols connected with the area — the Thistle and the Rose, the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew, variations on the letter B and many others.

It was finally decided that the station sign should be abstract, but that the symbol should have a shape and movement that would reflect both the medium and the area it serves.

 

Border Television logo

 

The final design (above) has the appearance of movement and also suggests the two halves of the area, Scottish and English, divided by the border and the Solway.

Robin Gill, Managing Director of Border Television, said: “We gave a great deal of thought to the design of our symbol and took the most expert advice.

“We wanted to provide the station with a symbol that represented the unity of the area and the visual nature of the Industry.”

The symbol selected was drawn up by one of Britain’s leading industrial designers who, among many other designs, produced the present BBC-tv symbol.

 


 

BBCtv symbolRuss J Graham writes: Human nature is such that when we don’t have all the information we fill in gaps in our knowledge by supposition and wishful thinking. Television logos are prime territory for this: what did the designer mean by that? What were they trying to say? What even is it? Fill in the blanks as you see fit.

Border’s cryptic logo always allowed for people to decide what it was depending on what they saw in it. A literal border? A divided TV screen? A map of the region? Chopsticks in a bowl?

And here we have it, straight from the horse’s mouth (forgive me, Robin Gill). It’s a representation of the border and the Solway Firth united by a television screen, with the suggestion of movement thrown in. Okay then.

It’s nice of The Stage to tell us that it was designed by the person responsible for the then-current BBCtv symbol, although it strangely doesn’t tell us who that is.

You Say

1 response to this article

Arthur Nibble 6 June 2020 at 3:53 pm

So, Border went for the logo but not the typeface.

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