UKTV, a series of channels broadcast on digital terrestrial and cable television here in Britain, is going through a full set of rebrands. Before, a selection of channels bearing self-explanatory names such as UKTV Gardens, UKTV Home, UKTV Living, UKTV Drama etc, all lived under the unifying UKTV brand. However, the last couple of years has seen a steady series of relaunches, which still continues, with the channels slowly losing their UKTV brand and taking on new names. First was UKTV G2, which became Dave, followed by other examples such as UKTV History becoming Yesterday, UKTV Gold becoming Go On Laugh Daily (which is just crap), and so on in that general manner. Each relaunch gives the channel in question an entirely new and independent look, some of which are more successful than others. That’s the history.



UKTV Style is the latest under the knife, rebranding as Home. As you can see from above, it again loses the rather pleasant UKTV brand and goes headlong into the mire of mediocrity. A strange swirly General Electric meatball roundel thingy*, and what’s possibly the most appallingly-set lettering (a modified version of Bitstream’s Freehand 521**) I have ever seen, shoved clumsily in the middle. I’m pretty sure I don’t have to spell out what’s wrong with the lettering, I’m just going to leave you to look at it, in shocked bewilderment, trying to imagine what sort of visually illiterate suit thought it was in any way acceptable enough to approve and pay the invoice of. Gosh.
*: Interestingly, they don’t use the roundel on the telly.
**: Thanks to Stephen Coles for identifying the typeface used.