On the occasion of its 36 years, Canal + is reinventing its visual identity in the image of its strategic transformation, both international and digital. With the creation of a “moving logo” revisiting its original signature and typography, the Canal + Group is affirming its evolution and its uniqueness. The artistic direction has put in place a performance that is both creative and technical through light shows, a spectacular installation and a unique sound universe.

For the occasion, Fubiz reveals behind the scenes images of this brand new installation :

And here an exclusive Interview with Olivier Degrave, creative director of this new brand identity :

Fubiz : Can you tell us about yourself and your role in creating this new Canal + brand identity?

Olivier : I am Corporate Creative Director of the Canal + group, I have been present in the company for more than 20 years for which I have held several positions within the Artistic Department.

For this project, my role was to imagine an identity that symbolizes our development and the power of the CANAL + brand in France and internationally, particularly via the myCANAL application. This element of identification is primarily there to accompany the viewer in reading the content, but we had to find a new language of expression for the umbrella brand that symbolizes our digital progress.

The world is becoming digital, and with us, we obviously have algorithms to help us on the platform, but behind the machines, there remains a human editorialization which through its daily action reinforces the added value, the most of Canal + which is human. This is the whole complexity of this new logo: it seems to be serialized with this string of LEDS when in reality it is made in an artisanal way, hence its imperfection, its singularity. Imperfection creates fascination.

Like others, we could have used synthetic means to express this signature, but it would not have been a reflection of what CANAL + is, a brand that both creates and aggregates content. The shooting of a real and colossal installation makes this creation unique, inimitable and incomparable, just like our group.

How did you manage to retain the DNA / brand codes while bringing it this new dimension?

The digitalization of the world can cause some memory loss. In order to go beyond that, it is important to refer, to remember where we came from, to reaffirm our codes. It is first of all an evolution and not a revolution of our identity.

Several years ago, I developed the “creative playground” of the brand by defining pillars. Typography because historically it is the strength of Canal +’s in-house creation studio. We owe it to Etienne Robial who knew how to impose a way of working graphic design at the heart of society.

Geometry because the perception of our identity carries this idea. It is directly related to our way of thinking about the layout, the templates, the formatting in the formats. Light as an immersive medium replaced the color present in the early days of CANAL +. Light, the basis of our work to fascinate or dazzle the eye. Finally, the last pillar, the real device, which allows to create fascinating and unique elements. It also reinforces the pioneering spirit of the artistic teams while promoting know-how. The element of chance that this type of installation generates also contributes to the idea of an inimitable brand.

What were the technical and human resources put in place in this project?

A 4-meter-long box inside, lined with mirrors and LEDs that create perpetual light. The Canal + logo, positioned on the face of the box, is backlit. All suspended more than 1 meter from the ground, in a 1000M2 plateau at the Cité du Cinéma, flooded with 2000 LEDS which form 3 huge cubes of light encompassing the logo. The floor is a 240 m2 swimming pool which, together with the reflection, accentuates the effect of mise en abyme and depth. A parallel to the multiplicity of content on the application. Everything is filmed in 6K by a telescopic crane mounted on rails.

The lights are synchronized with the symphonic music recorded at the Seine Musicale. Basically, we first did this installation in 3D with Guy-Joseph Aignel at the Artistic Direction to properly prepare the needs. We then worked with Michel Janin and Sylvie Tassié from the Setup company for the decoration part including logo box, swimming pool and installation. The LEDS part was managed by Denis Pillod from the LED and DESIGN company. Finally, the programming part of the LEDS was carried out by Thomas Besson and Chloé Harel of the DLAB company on models of the graphic design imagined by the artistic direction. The additional challenge is that all of this was orchestrated incredibly well by all despite a period of intense confinement.

Enfin la musique est un travail de collaboration étroite que nous entretenons depuis déjà plusieurs années avec le compositeur Norbert Gilbert, qui connais bien notre histoire et notre identité. L’enregistrement a été réalisé à la Seine Musicale avec un orchestre composé de 32 Musiciens, essentiellement des cordes.

What do you want to convey through this new identity?

This installation carries the strategy of power at the same time as the singularity of our group. With our many channels, productions and more than 50,000 content available at any time, it is also a question of reaffirming CANAL + as an umbrella brand with its myCANAL platform. This installation expresses this unique anchoring in the society of images.