NITV unveils bold new look with re-designed branding and clapstick logo

A new Bilma (Clapstick) logo fronts NITV's re-design, representing the beating heartbeat of First Nations culture.

NITV National Indigenous Television new logo and new artwork 2021

The new 'Bilma' logo that David Williams and his team at Gilimbaa created with NITV. Source: NITV

NITV has revealed a new brand position including a new logo, artwork and television schedule, as it reaches nearly a decade of free-to-air broadcast as part of the SBS network.

The launch campaign 'Reimagine Australia' asks audiences to rethink our identity as a nation. The channel shines a light on honest conversations about Australia's past, and as well as celebrates a future underpinned by 60,000 years of tradition, resilience and strength of First Nations peoples and cultures.

Promotional spots featuring familiar faces such as Ernie Dingo, Uncle Jack Charles, Adam Goodes, Osher Günsberg, Archie Roach, Kerry O’Brien, Samantha Harris, Tim Minchin and more will run across SBS channels and platforms including television, online, radio and social media.
The new branding includes a redesigned NITV logo which incorporates the Bilma —the North-East Arnhem land term for 'clapstick'— and the SBS Mercator symbol. When clapsticks are struck, the rhythm is carried across the country, connecting and celebrating Indigenous cultures. Together, these elements represent NITV: the home of First Nations storytelling in Australia.
NITV’s creative team collaborated with First Nations creative agency , led by Executive Director and proud Wakka Wakka man David Williams. 

The new brand incorporates a colour palette inspired by the natural world which highlights four defining Countries – Desert Country, Bush Country, Freshwater Country and Saltwater Country. A secondary palette has been created for social media, inspired by Rainforest Country.

Texture has also been incorporated across the palette, symbolising the earth all Australians stand on, no matter where they may be in the country.
Tanya Denning-Orman, a Birri and Guugu Yimidhirr woman and Director of Indigenous Content, SBS, said NITV has come a long way since it first beamed across the bush in 2007.

"Today, we’re proud to be delivering what we were established for all those years ago, as a dedicated space for First Nations stories, made by Indigenous people in control of how we’re portrayed, and representing the many voices of the country’s First Australians," she said.

“Telling our stories on our terms has never been more important, and as the power and promise of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives increasingly becomes a focus for Australian audiences.

"We’re excited to launch a new look and feel that reflects NITV’s enduring mission, illustrates the contemporary channel we are today, and celebrates the diverse First Nations communities and cultures we champion through our content,” Denning-Orman said. 

David Williams, Executive Director of Gilimbaa, said the Gilimbaa team was inspired by the challenge to create a new NITV brand that would tell their story, representing who they are as an organisation, connecting with mob all around the country.

“The trust placed in us by the NITV team and spirit of collaboration throughout the project made it extra special for us to be a part of and we are very proud with the journey to date and hope that our communities right across the country will embrace it,” Williams said. 

As NITV implements its new brand, the channel has also introduced a new prime time television schedule, designed to give audiences more of what they love, and maximise opportunities to reach and serve communities with their distinctive programming line-up.

The revised schedule features themed programming slots, including a drama night, a movie night, a six-day a week natural history documentary slot and a regular weeknight slot entitled Bamay (an NITV production that showcases the country's most diverse and stunning landscapes from a bird's eye view).

 

The new brand and ‘Reimagine Australia’ campaign will be live across NITV and SBS channels from 5am on Sunday 12 December.

Watch the  or see the channel's .


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4 min read
Published 12 December 2021 7:23am
Updated 12 December 2021 8:22am
By NITV Staff Writers

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