National Ministry of Design (NMD), a Boston-based broadcast design and branding boutique, is responsible for the new graphics package for the “CBS Evening News with Katie Couric,” which debuted Tuesday, Sept. 5.
The network's senior management, including CBS creative director Bob Peterson, worked with Dave Allen and Jean McCarvill, creative directors at NMD, to create a package across CBS' multiple platforms (TV, Internet and cell phones) that reinforces CBS News as a “trusted, worldwide news gathering organization.” The images are also designed to support branding that introduces Katie Couric as the new face of the “CBS Evening News.”
The new graphics were also designed to integrate into the new set, designed by Broadcast Design International (BDI), in Carlsbad, CA, and Florida. The set is built wider to accommodate HDTV's 16:9 aspect ratio.
The new graphics look contrasts rich shades of traditional CBS blue with a fresh, warmer color palette. The use of curved shapes is a conscious departure from the past and gives the design a contemporary feel, according to NMD.
“We wanted to use structures that broke away from the expected, boxy news graphic format,” McCarvill said, adding that all of the curves are taken directly from the CBS eye.
A new orchestral score, composed by Academy Award-winner James Horner, supports the show's opening.
NMD has worked on many of the CBS News network design projects, including the previous “CBS Evening News” package and the “Early Show.”
