ITV Rolls Out Reimagined Idents for 2019

ITV has put a novel spin on its idents by turning them into a platform for up-and-coming UK artists. 

Created by the channel's in-house agency, ITV Creative, ITV Creates sees artists given a week to craft their own, unique take on the ITV ident, which will then be broadcast across the ITV schedule for the next week.

Announced back in December 2018, the initiative kicked off this week with the airing of its inaugural ident, created by award-winning artist, photographer and filmmaker Ravi Deepres, below.

Deepres is just one of 52 artists - other names include Sutapa Biswas, James Brunt, Patricia Volk, Mark Titchner, Katrina Russell Adams, Kristina Veasey and James Alec Hardy - who are set to have their work displayed on the nation’s televisions.

The channel has also announced plans to dedicate one month of the year to new student talent, offering opportunities to young artists at the very beginning of their careers, by working with universities in different parts of the country to offer art students the opportunity to design the ITV identity during that month.

Still from Sutapa Biswas' forthcoming ident

“Idents have been around since the dawn of TV and the way they have behaved has changed very little. We wanted to push against the prevailing convention that idents are set, the idea that they are moving wallpaper that lasts 5 or 10 years without changing,” says Tony Pipes, executive creative director at ITV. “With this project, we’ve not only given a platform to some of Britain’s best visual artists, but we have also found a way to continually entertain and surprise our viewers. This work reflects ITV as a 21st Century broadcaster, part of the fabric of culture, as an endlessly creative organisation.”