How the Dave rebrand harnesses mess to reflect its irreverent tone of voice

Output and UKTV Creative have collaborated on a new look for Dave to reflect its expansion from an entertainment television channel to a maker of original content, including podcasts and YouTube commissions. “Irreverent and playful” is how Output describes the new system in a release, with the studio embedding a celebrated part of Dave, the “silliness” and mistakes that occur across programming, into the identity.

“Our aim was to provide direction for a brand which prods, pokes and subverts the world around us,” the release states. “Something that celebrates the joy of everyday reality, and helps you ‘find the funny’ through authentic observation of relatable moments.” Examples of this observational approach can be found in the motion design – which is inspired by the movement of a popping toaster or office printer. Elsewhere, stickers and labels, scattered purposefully haphazardly, appear as a recurring visual theme.

Output describes the set of design guidelines as being “light on rules”, so that UKTV Creative can expand Dave’s toolkit over time through its own team of writers and designers. The Dave rebrand is the latest major project for Output which reflects the inventive approach it has brought to brands like Cuckoo in recent years.

Peter Allinson, UKTV’s head of design says: “Dave is a very different place to where we were five years ago. So we worked with the brilliant team at Output to evolve the Dave brand to better reflect the content we are putting out today.” Mark Robbins, Output’s brand design director adds: “Meeting the Dave team, we knew instantly that the brand had to feel irreverent and unpolished. The challenge was creating this almost human, imperfect aesthetic in a way that would work for broadcast, and be able to be executed really quickly for reactive content daily too.”