The new Apple TV logo has something about it, wouldn't you say? Some kind of organic quality that it's hard to put a finger on. It's almost as if it were real... wait. It is real?
It turns out that it is. A behind-the-scenes video reveals how the Apple TV sonic logo intro was made, and it involved a much more traditional and artisan approach than you might think.
At a time when some brands are resorting to AI to make full-length adverts (way to ruin Christmas, Coca-Cola), Apple opted not to use even traditional CGI or 3D modelling. It used cut and polished actual real glass and filmed it to make a two-second ident.
Posting on LinkedIn, Jonathan Hadida, Apple's product marketing lead for iPhone & Apple Vision Pro, shared a timelapse video showing that the Apple TV logo was made using almost entirely practical effects.
The creation of the new brand identifier was handled by TBWA Media Arts Lab, Apple's global creative agency. The footage above shows that a physical Apple TV logo with semi-translucent glass was used against a background of changing colours.
Several layers of colour created realistic, dynamic highlights on the glass, without the need for post-production trickery. As the camera pans outwards, the colour of the screen (and consequently, the logo) changes. We also see how the logo is turned, creating the spinning chromatic aberration effect.
Some observers have pointed out that using CGI might have been more efficient in terms of both time and cost, but I think that misses the point. Using practical effects emphasises the craftmanship of traditional fimmaking, with all the challenges that involves, while also foregrounding Apple's broader focus on crafting physical products, with glass being an important material.
According to Tor Myhren, Apple's vice president of marketing communications, the decision to use this hands-on approach reflects Apple's ideals of highlighting "tactile detail and camera-centric aesthetics."
Also featuring music by Finneas, the identity pays tribute to the incredible amount of invisible work that goes into making TV. That makes it not only one of the best sonic logos of the year, but also one of the best adverts of Apple for a long time, making up for controversial missteps like the M4 iPad Pro advert and its attempt to appeal to Gen Z with "The Parent Presentation".
It alludes to Liquid Glass, Apple's new design language for its operating systems, while the shifting colour scheme reflects the variety of genres and emotions evoked by Apple TV content (and also recalls the colourful history of the Apple logo).
The handcrafted approach to the logo design reminds me of those classic BBC 2 idents from the 1990s. Creative, warm, tangible and relatable.
It's also another sign suggesting that big tech has come to realise that there's still value in traditional craftmanship in these times of AI. Just recently, OpenAI and Anthropic, two AI companies, both ran campaigns that made use of traditional analogue techniques.
Mother's campaign for Anthropic's AI chatbot Claude included a Madvillain-soundtracked cinematic film produced by Love Song. OpenAI's first major Chat GPT ad campaign was even shot on 35mm film (yep, OpenAI doesn't think Sora is good enough to make an ad, even if Coca-Cola does).
It seems some of the companies at the cutting edge of tech have decided that using traditional, labour-intensive techniques can help them show a warmer and more human side, and distance themselves from fears that their products are detrimental to human creativity.
Let's hope the same craftsmanship will be seen in future Apple TV programming.
