Channel 4's Sliding Idents Embody the Spirit of the Paralympics

Adding to the long history of Channel 4 idents for the 2024 Paris Paralympics Games and featuring Boccia, Wheelchair Tennis, Swimming and Goalball.

These idents, designed to celebrate the spirit of the Paralympics, will be unveiled during the official broadcast and across the whole of channel 4 during the event, highlighting the network’s commitment to inclusivity, innovation, and the celebration of extraordinary talent. 

Geoff Parsons, head of creative at Electric Studios said, "I really love Channel 4’s design work. Always have done. I was jealous back in the early 2000's when I worked for other lesser designed TV channels, To be handed the keys to their multi-award winning branding package really was quite an honour, especially as Electric are the first external studio to work with the innovative sliding 'rooms' system that makes up the graphic architecture of the new idents. The great thing about this piece was finding that balance between realism and a more graphical aesthetic; it meant we could lean into the sort of visual narratives we love to create at Electric, working closely with the guys at 4Creative to make a set of idents that not only are we super proud of, but do a fantastic job of capturing the tangible excitement of one of the year's most important sporting events."

Jess Gaynor, senior motion designer at Electric Studios said, “The 4Creative team came to us with a clear idea of how they wanted to approach these idents, to focus on the Paralympics sports arenas, using an areal viewpoint to drive the navigation through the established channel 4, ident world system. The brief was to capture an 'observed realism', using a graphical, stylised approach whilst staying true to the Paralympic sports. Aligning court, track and pool markings, meant we had a defined grid system to follow as we moved from sport, to sport. 

The challenge was to portray the energy and excitement of the Paralympics, without actually featuring any athletes. We used shadows casting to allude to the presence of the athletes and atmospheric sound design to help immerse the viewer, along with featuring some speedy wheels and sports balls of course! Lot’s of RND and figuring out layout, movement and pacing via a 2D animatic meant we had a strong base before moving onto building the sports in 3D.” 

The work can be found all across Channel 4 during the broadcast of the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.