STEELING SIGNS

Watching Scottish Television is a rare thing in the Smith house, so rare in fact that the channel seems to have had a wee makeover since my last visit. It's not like the company can't afford it, judging by their profits, but I'm not sure that their latest station ident is going to win them any fans in the Central Belt area - so my dad reminds me - especially anywhere close to the long-defunct Ravenscraig steel plant.

Now I wouldn't begin to guess how much the big blue S cost the company, or how many manhours the designers sweated over the concept, but if I were boss of logos at STV, I'd be looking for a refund because Big Blue S bears an uncanny resemblance to the old British Steel sign (see image on left) only not half as clever. At least the old BS logo had a kind of integrity about it, recalling the sturdy links of a chain, sadly a chain that was rattled and pulled by old Thatcher as she choked the industry (along with the miners) into submission.

STV's nice n' safe graphic says nothing about the kind of business it's in. It almost makes you nostalgic for their old Bertie Bassett creation, a piece of pure 80s post modern, sub-Memphis design kookery. Their daft trailer with people fondling a big plastic S, looks like they've taken part in a drunken student prank dismantling shop signage.

Now I know why they're called corporate image con-sultants. S for suckers, I say.