“Satellite” Arabia: The Logos of Our TV Channels

January 21, 2010 at 12:55 pm · Filed under Arab Culture, Art, Music

Yesterday, I was surprised to find a new logo for MBC Max. Now, as much as I like MBC (they’re awesome with choosing content), I always feel like they have a problem going on with their graphic design. Their logos are never very well done, and they’re often very dull too.

For example, here’s the old MBC Max logo and the new one:

 mbcmax      mbc-max-nlogo
    (Old logo)               (New logo)

They basically went from bad to really bad. The new logo looks more like a boxing channel’s illegible emblem than that of a movie channel. It’s too angular, with its sharp lines and minimalist-gone-wrong theme.

This change got me thinking about how graphic design on TV is mostly really terrible, and I am only referring to the reputable TV channels. Let’s do a quick overview…

Working Logos:

Dubai One: The initial Dubai One brand was one of the most impressive Arab brands I have ever seen. It was brilliant. I guess the artsy-fartsy treatment didn’t work out too well with their audience, because it was soon replaced by a more cliche one (orange is initial, black is new). Regardless, their new logo is still the best Arab TV channel logo either way.

onePicture 2


Syria TV: Comparatively, Syria TV’s logo is pretty nice. The typography is interesting, though the “Seen” looks a bit off, sort of like it is an Arabized version of a Latin font. It works pretty well though, especially when seen on screen.
syria

Al-Hurra TV: The US-backed news channel’s logo looks as serious as it should. The clean typography isn’t bad, and the color red adds zest to an otherwise dull brand.

alhurra

Al-Arabiya Tv: MBC’s answer to Al-Jazeera is simple, clean, and well designed.

Al_Arabiya

Al-Manar TV: Bet you didn’t expect this one! :) Okay, the black outline is terrible, and there are some really weird elements that the logo would do better without, but really, with a few edits here and there, this logo would turn out fantastic. For the non-Arabic readers, this is actually a typographic logo that says “Al-Manar”.
al_manar_tvual br>


Al-Jazeera: The emblem is brilliant. It has become an icon for the channel, one that works well in terms of visual balance and cultural identity. It has also resulted in a multitude of knock-offs.

al_jazeera_logo


MBC 4: While I do not like this logo at all, it does kind of work. What do you think?
MBC_4_KAMERA_0579__720x576.175


Sama Dubai TV:  This one’s really nice, aside from the English typography. I love how it looks like a sky above sand dunes.

Sama_Dubai_300


Dubai TV: Don’t really like this one, but Lina does. You should probably take Lina’s word over mine.

_dubai-tv


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The Bad Logos:

Future TV:  I don’t like this logo much either. The contrast in typography creeps me out, and the curves are way off.  The emblem is also too retro. Okay, it’s not really that bad, it kind of works, but it’s still ugly.
future_logo


manual br
MBC 2: I really dislike this logo. It looks so old, and not in a good way. The chrome effect is also really annoying.
 
mbc2

LBC: Sad to see the Lebanese stick with such a hideous creation for so long, when they have such a great graphic design scene. Guys, it’s about time to change, okay?
lbc_sat


Jordan: Like I mentioned previously, we keep getting worse. After getting an acceptable logo a few years back, Jordan TV replaced it with a really ugly one soon after. Red is “acceptable old logo”, gold is ugly new logo. 

tv-logo-new  jordanietv

MBC Action: While I like the brand of MBC Action on TV, the logo itself is terrible. I hate the typography, it looks like a James Bond headline gone wrong.

262639

What do you think of all these logos?






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  • http://www.bagoftreats.blogspot.com Amina

    Sama Dubai and Al Jazeera are by far the best. They are creative and very well done, and at the end of the day serve their purpose quite successfully.

    Some of the channels seriously need either a new design for their logo or a complete overhaul of their design team for sticking with such hideous brand logos, or in the case of the Jordanian channel downgrading to that heinous logo.

    The Dubai tv and Al Manar logos should be in the Bad Logo pile. As a child i could never read what the Al Manar logo said and as an adult, i just can’t stand looking at it. It looks very outdated. The Dubai tv logo on the other hand looks over worked.

    But that’s just my opinion.

  • http://meshx86.wordpress.com Mesh

    1.MBC MAX new logo is a terrible i agree.

    2. Dubai one is fine, thought it don’t know what the ’ indicates

    3. Syrian hmm not bad ,

    4. Hurra, Arabeyyah, Manar are terrible, Manar has some kind of symbolism that make it unique

    5. Jazeera yes balanced one

    6. Sama Dubai ? Ewww

    7. Dubai, they have to consider reconstucting it vertically according to their towers lol

    8. Future, LBC are no good,

    9. Jordan loves the old one, Action and 2 are fine..

    Have you ever seen the Palestinian TV Logo once i t launched ? it was the Palestinian Flag on the shape of the Dome of the rock, it really sucked, my uncle’s wife used to call it the “TFOOO” Logo as it looked like that..

  • http://meshx86.wordpress.com Mesh

    MBC 4 logo is cool specially has the 3d illusion

  • Mohammed Zatari

    The old MBC Max logo is better than the new one, but the new one is not that bad!!
    and beside, it hasn’t a long time yet to change their logo!!

    And the new Jordans channel logo!! WTF!!!!! i was proud of the old one!!

    Future TV is fine

    MBC action is fine for an action channel!!

    MBC 2 is baaaaad!!

    MBC four is good

    MBC it self is really bad!

    al3arabeyyeh is good

    aljazeera is good but for me i hate these kind of calligraphy

    Dubai One is so fuckin cool and simple!!

    almanar baaad

    sama dubai is fine!

  • http://blog.vickiboykis.com Vicki

    As a non-Arabic speaker (but can read a little,) Al Jazeera is the most imprinted in my mind, as well. I’m wondering how the rules for Arabic typography differ from those for Roman alphabets? Is that why so many logos are in English (more flexible typography), or because they are trying to appeal to a different audience?

  • http://ghasseel.blogspot.com Mala2e6

    I am not a graphic designer (it shows i think) but i can tell the difference between a good logo and a bad one

    sometimes,we normal non designer people,relate to a logo,we tend to overlook it’s hideousness if we really like the channel.

    what do you of Rotana logo? it looks a lot like sony ericsson’s

    i like Fatafeet’s,it looks sparkling new (and comes in colors)

    as for the MBC 2 ..looks like the old logo of israel tv (it was the number 2 but without the circle..

    JTV,I never got the eye thing..maybe now it makes sense lol

    That was a good post Ruba

  • http://www.aliwritings.blogspt.com Ali

    For me i like the new MBC MAX logo, It look good on t.v.

    For the rest i don’t care to be honest because i only MBC CHANNELS which are the best.

  • http://daftartajreebi.wordpress.com omar

    i love Dubai TV logo too!

    Sama Dubai is so 3omar bilbeisi khaleeji hotel zift.

    Future TV got a brilliant identity! They employ their logo very well in motion graphics and stuff – don’t you think?

    MBC 4′s logo is from a free font called Bionic kid:
    http://www.dafont.com/font.php?file=bionic_kid&page=1&nb_ppp_old=10&text=4&nb_ppp=10&psize=m&classt=alpha

    they haven’t done much, ma ba3raf

    Dubai ONE is ace – i liked the translucent one.
    Reminded me of the glorious days of Zen TV.

    My friend Hani Alireza rebranded Iqra’ tv’s logo – worth a mention I think.
    http://www.hanialireza.com/#206632/Iqraa-TV-logo

    :)

  • Chris

    Let’s do! Al-Jazeera — 1st place for absolute perfection. A total lifer. Al-Arabiya — 2nd place, because plain and simple is sometimes all you need. Al-Manar — 3rd place. I agree, maybe a couple tweaks, and it would look really spiffy. The typography is pretty much the same as their flag, so that was smart. And for me, the logo fits perfectly. Its very jagged and militant. Like two cannons, one for Israel, and one for Future TV. If you didn’t know, that’s how they got that hole in their logo. Syria TV — A tad squiggly, but nice. MBC 4 — Looks like M.C. Escher designed it. Dubai TV — Kinda futuristic, I like it. Al-Hurra and Sama — Nope. The English ones — I like reading the Arabic, so strikeouts for them as well. Jordan TV — I occasionally watch that on Livestation, but the logo is different. Its got a crown with a concave flag thingy below it, but not the Egyptian eye one. I once had that “whistling” morning show theme stuck in my head once. That really SUCKED! btw, I always liked Lyngsat logo, so if you haven’t been there, you might want to check that out.

  • June

    Cool post.

  • http://andfaraway.net Roba

    Amina, thanks for your opinion! I agree with 99% of what you said, especially about the Dubai logo being overworked.

    Mesh, why do you think that Al-Hurra and Al-Arabiya are horrible? :) The video isn’t loading for me:/ fee image link?

    Mohammed Zatari, well, I actually like the MBC logo. The typography is very simple. I just hate the colors! It looks bette in one color.

    Vicki, oh, wow, that’s a complicated question. Latin typography and Arabic typography have practically nothing in common. Latin typography is a drink of water compared to Arabic typography :) There are many Latin logos here though because there isn’t much Arabic content production to speak off, so the channels generally display Hollywood flicks and stuff, regardless of who the target audience is. Arabic is also not very friendly with technology, for example, my reciever doesn’t have Arabic on it, so everything has to be in English in terms of commands. Latinizign an Arabic name is annoying when you want to search for a channel- is it alarabiya? arabia? elarabia? you know, there’s no specific spelling, which makes it easier to work with latin.

    Mala2e6, yeah the Rotana logo ma2sah insaneyeh! I’m not looking forward to Rotana Cafe in Jabal Amman :/ I have never seen Fatafeet’s logo, I’ll check that out :) Glad you liked the post! I always like your posts too :) You’re a very creative story teller.

    Ali, it does? Really? Ialso only watch MBC, although we have cable. MBc rocks!

    Omar, thanks for the pointer. I like the balance in that logo though it’s a bit dull. I have never really watched Future TV so I have no idea how it looks like in motion graphics. What’s Zen TV?

    Chris, LOL, I love the way you dissected Al-Manar’s logo. It dose look like a bullet! :) You’re right about that being the old JTV logo! I guess I thought it was the new one, but it turrns out its the one before the last :) I’ll check Lyngsat out, thanks for the heads up.

    June, thank you!

  • http://www.thelostdot.com dots..
  • http://qassami.blogspot.com mo

    im glad u put almanar’s logo in there cuz i was gona say it .. probably my favorite one ..

  • http://meshx86.wordpress Mesh

    roba here is a link

    http://ivarfjeld.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/arab.jpg

    that was the old one, though they got a new one, both be5zo

  • http://meshx86.wordpress Mesh

    3al paint 3amleeno lol

  • Comment Leaver

    I don’t think the logo alone is what makes a good TV brand or not, its the material that comes with it, and how you implement it, take MTV for instance, aesthetically speaking the logo is very ordinary, if not ugly! but its been pushed creatively to an amazing levels, and now almost everyone agrees that it works just fine! Same is the case with some of the logos mentioned in this post, like Future TV logo for example, which I don’t think it’s a bad logo to begin with, but it just works perfectly with their identity and motion graphics work.

    What I really don’t got is why people were (and still are) so crazy about “Dubai One”, the logo itself is so hideous to be honest! and the way it was first implemented on their segments and other graphics, weren’t that great, I mean some of the ideas were nice, bu the execution was so damn average student quality!

    But I have to agree that Sama Dubai is amongst the best!

  • http://egyptnewswire.blogspot.com/ SiSi

    How about the Egyptian ones?

    What would you suggest for Nile TV for instance?

  • Odai

    Roba, here is the latest logo of Jordan Television, tell me what do you think?
    http://www.jrtv.jo/index.php?page_type=videoarchive&play=244
    I agree with Omar, Zen TV was amazing, and it’s a loss they are off-the-air now, if you had never watched it, check this:
    http://www.facebook.com/video/?oid=2253427673#/video/video.php?v=1020504680163&oid=2253427673
    I like the Egyptian OTV whole identity:
    http://www.otvegypt.com/

  • Nadine

    I hate the Dubai One design. The apostrophe always annoyed me… Is one an abbreviation for a longer word? Any ideas why it’s there? I just always felt that if they wanted a symbol associated with their channel, they should’ve made something new up. Plus is it just me or does that channel always seem out of focus?

    Sama Dubai’s is a cool idea, but I just don’t think it’s pretty.

    Al Jazeera is easily my favorite. It’s just so arab and there! It’s like a piece of gaudy gold old 7ajjehs would wear, but somehow it doesn’t look gaudy as a logo. Very “we’re Arab and flashy and proud… And we can totally pull it off”. Love it!

  • http://mzatari.blogspot.com/ Mohammed Zatari

    you know what i liked!!

    MTV Arabia Logo!!
    but i hate the channel!!

  • http://notgr33ndata.blogspot.com Tarek

    I love this post, my favourite logos up there are Dubai, Future TV, Al Manar, and Dubai One.

    You should have a “Part II” of this post, and let me suggest Iqraa, Al Hayah, Nile TV, O and ON TV, Bahrain, Rotana. Here you are the list of channels on the Nile Sat, but some logos may not be uptodate, http://www.nilesat.com.eg/channel_list_101.htm