Martin Lambie-Nairn
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Martin John Lambie-Nairn (5 August 1945 – 25 December 2020) was an English designer. He was the founder of his branding agency
Lambie-Nairn Superunion is a global brand and design consultancy, headquartered in London. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of WPP. Superunion was formed after five agencies merged in January 2018, and employs 500 people across 16 offices.
and was the creative director of branding agency ML-N. He is recognised for having redefined television brand identity design, being the first to embrace computer technologies to apply branding to screen-based media. Lambie-Nairn was also a co-creator of 1980s satirical puppet show ''
Spitting Image ''Spitting Image'' is a British satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productions' for Central Independent Television ov ...
''. Amongst his most prominent works are the original
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
logo and idents created in 1982, the batch of over 30 idents for
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
that first aired on 16 February 1991, the 1997 corporate re-brand for the whole
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
, and the 2008 BBC Regional News titles. In conjunction with his agency, he also created launch packages for certain other BBC channels.


Early life and education

Lambie-Nairn was born Martin John Lambie in
Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...
and educated at Canterbury College of Art (later known as
Kent Institute of Art & Design The Kent Institute of Art & Design (KIAD, often ) was an art school based across three campuses in the county of Kent, in the United Kingdom. It was formed by the amalgamation of three independent colleges: Canterbury College of Art, Maidstone Co ...
, now the
University for the Creative Arts The University for the Creative Arts is a specialist art and design university in the south of England. It was formed in 2005 as University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone and Rochester when the Kent Inst ...
).


Career


Early work

Lambie-Nairn's career in television began at the BBC in 1965, where he worked as an assistant designer. Roles as a
graphic designer A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, ...
at
Rediffusion Rediffusion was a business that distributed radio and TV signals through wired relay networks. The business gave rise to a number of other companies, including Associated-Rediffusion, later known as Rediffusion London, the first ITV (commercia ...
,
ITN Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based television production company. It is made up of two divisions: Broadcast News and ITN Productions. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, N ...
and
London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 unt ...
followed. At
ITN Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based television production company. It is made up of two divisions: Broadcast News and ITN Productions. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, N ...
, he worked on the on-screen graphics for the Apollo space missions and later designed the ITN corporate logo and title sequence for '' News at Ten''. Lambie-Nairn established his own company, Robinson Lambie-Nairn, with partner Colin Robinson in 1976 after leaving LWT, and he went on to develop new graphic presentation techniques for ''
Weekend World ''Weekend World'' is a British television political series, made by London Weekend Television (LWT) and broadcast from 1972 to 1988. Created by John Birt, not long after he had joined LWT, the series was broadcast on the ITV network at midday ...
''. The business expanded and was renamed
Lambie-Nairn Superunion is a global brand and design consultancy, headquartered in London. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of WPP. Superunion was formed after five agencies merged in January 2018, and employs 500 people across 16 offices.
& Company in 1990. Computer animation enabled him to produce what became regarded as a revolutionary identity for
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
, the "Blocks" logo. This identity launched the fledgling TV channel on 2 November 1982 and remained at the heart of the channel's on-air presentation for 14 years. In 1981 he created the original idea for the UK TV series ''
Spitting Image ''Spitting Image'' is a British satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productions' for Central Independent Television ov ...
'' which ran for 11 years. He received the credit that the show was "based on an original lunch with Martin Lambie-Nairn." Following Channel 4 and ''Spitting Image'', he worked as a director of computer animated commercials, producing the first ever 30-second computer-generated TV advertisement in the UK, which was a commercial for
Smarties Smarties are colour-varied sugar-coated chocolate confectionery. They have been manufactured since 1937, originally by H.I. Rowntree & Company in the United Kingdom, and now by Nestlé. Smarties are oblate spheroids with a minor axis of abou ...
.


Corporate identities

In 1990, Lambie-Nairn became consultant creative director of the BBC brand, a position he held for 12 years. During this period Lambie-Nairn and his company rebranded the BBC and all of its outputs, across all media. The best known channel identity was for
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
, commissioned by then-controller
Alan Yentob Alan Yentob (born 11 March 1947) is a BBC presenter and retired British television executive. He stepped down as Creative Director in December 2015, and was chairman of the board of trustees of the charity Kids Company from 2003 until its collap ...
in a bid to make the channel appear less stuffy. All of the idents in the first series employed traditional live action. Later, with the change of target audience, a new generation of idents was commissioned and produced using CGI. The idents were highly popular, even receiving fan mail. For
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
, Lambie-Nairn and Daniel Barber redesigned the globe identity, a well-recognized icon of the BBC, having been introduced in 1963. Later, Lambie-Nairn again redesigned the identity for BBC One – creating the red
hot air balloon A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carries p ...
that was used for a new series of idents aired on BBC One from 4 October 1997. This aimed to capture the idea that the channel brought the whole world to every corner of the United Kingdom. This was part of a wider corporate rebranding which included a redesign of the BBC blocks logo and also a new package for BBC News which utilized a warmer color palette for the first time. As the BBC's primary external agency, Lambie-Nairn also oversaw the design of channel identities for emerging digital properties
BBC News 24 BBC News (also known as the BBC News Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television news channel for BBC News. It was launched as BBC News 24 on 9 November 1997 at 5:30 pm as part of the BBC's foray into digital domestic telev ...
(now called BBC News),
BBC World BBC World News is an international English-language pay television network, operated under the ''BBC Global News Limited'' division of the BBC, which is a public corporation of the UK government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and S ...
,
BBC Choice BBC Choice was a British digital television channel which was owned by the BBC and was launched on 23 September 1998. It was the first British TV channel to broadcast exclusively in digital format, as well as the BBC's second non-analogue-terres ...
,
BBC Knowledge BBC Knowledge was a British television channel which was owned by the BBC and was launched on 1 June 1999, broadcasting documentary, cultural and educational programmes. It was shut down on 2 March 2002, and was replaced by BBC Four. History L ...
,
CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel CBBC is aimed at older childr ...
,
CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...
,
BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
Contains videos of the idents. and BBC Three. In 1997, he wrote ''Brand Identity for Television: With Knobs On''. He used the book to reveal how he and his colleagues achieved key identities. Lambie-Nairn also co-conceived the '' Rhythm & Movement'' idents for
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
first shown on 29 March 2002. In 2001, he created BBC Two's 2001–2007 ''Personality 2s'' series of idents, which featured robotic figure 2s, each displaying individual personalities, which went on the air on 19 November. Throughout collaboration with the BBC, Lambie-Nairn and company also developed the logos and corporate identities for the London Weekday and
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
ITV franchises owned by
Carlton Communications Carlton was a British media company. It was led by Michael P. Green and listed on the London Stock Exchange from 1983 until 2 February 2004, when it was bought by Granada plc in a corporate takeover to form ITV plc. Carlton shareholders gained ap ...
. He also branded
Anglia Television ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated b ...
, S4C,
TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is par ...
,
Arte Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plus ...
, NOS,
Disney Channel UK Disney Channel was a British and Irish television kids channel owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company (UK) Ltd. It was aired from 1 October 1995, to 30 September 2020. A one-hour timeshift service called Disney Channel +1 was available o ...
, The Business Channel,
Alhurra Alhurra ( ar, الحرة ' ,The pronunciation differs depending on the variety of Arabic, for example, . "the Free One") is a United States-based public Arabic-language satellite TV channel that broadcasts news and current affairs programming ...
,
British Satellite Broadcasting British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB) was a television company, headquartered in London, that provided direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom. They started broadcasting on 25 March 1990. The company was merged with ...
, and many others. In 2002, Lambie-Nairn's agency was also credited for helping rebrand BT Cellnet into the O2 brand based around the metaphor of oxygen. In 2008, he directed the creation of a new unified red-and-white branding for
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
. The red and white template had videos of local landmarks, transport and people together. Components of the 2008 identity continue to be in use.


Later years

In 2009 Lambie-Nairn left the practice he founded to join Heavenly as creative director, leaving in 2011. At Heavenly, he devised the launch identity for
Sky Atlantic Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group Limited broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel is primarily dedicated to imported programmes from the United States, and holds the domestic rights to HBO ...
and also for
BBC Entertainment BBC Entertainment is an international television channel broadcasting comedy, drama, light entertainment, reality and children's programming (some regions only) from the BBC, Channel 4 and other UK production houses. The channel broadcasts regi ...
. He subsequently had his own consultancy, ML-N, based in London. In 2011, he worked as a creative consultant in creating a new identity for the
Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...
. Through ML-N, he was appointed consultant creative director for the research company, TNS. In 2016, he had joined Red&White as a non-executive chairman and creative director, where he worked to create a new logo and brand identity for his alma mater, the
University of Northampton , mottoeng = Let us not be ignorant , established = 2005 (gained University status) 1975 (Nene College established) , type = Public , endowment = £0.95 m (2015) , chancellor = Richard Coles , vice_chancellor = ...
. In 2020, Lambie-Nairn was interviewed for the BBC Four programme ''The Sound of TV'', which debuted a few weeks before his death.


Personal life and death

Lambie-Nairn passed away on 25 December 2020 at the age of 75. His death was mentioned during a
junction Junction may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film * Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film * Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille * Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002 * Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...
on Channel 4 alongside an original channel ident which Lambie-Nairn oversaw the development of in the 1980s. He was survived by his wife Cordelia (née Summers) whom he married in 1970.


Awards

Lambie-Nairn was an RDI (Royal Designer for Industry), Fellow of the
Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
, and an ex-president of
D&AD Design and Art Direction (D&AD), formerly known as British Design and Art Direction, is a British educational organisation that was created in 1962 to promote excellence in design and advertising. Its main offices are in Spitalfields in London. I ...
. He received the D&AD President's Award, Prince Philip Design Prize, Promax Lifetime Achievement Award and Promax Hall of Fame (USA). He also received a Gold D&AD for his work for Channel 4, multiple Silver D&ADs, a BAFTA for his work for BBC2 and multiple Promax Awards. Lambie-Nairn held an honorary doctorate of Arts from the
University of Lincoln , mottoeng = Freedom through wisdom , established = 1861 – Hull School of Art1905 – Endsleigh College1976 – Hull College1992 – University of Humberside1996 – University of Lincolnshire and Humberside2001 †...
, and was a visiting professor at the Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design. He also held an honorary doctorate of Arts from the
University of Northampton , mottoeng = Let us not be ignorant , established = 2005 (gained University status) 1975 (Nene College established) , type = Public , endowment = £0.95 m (2015) , chancellor = Richard Coles , vice_chancellor = ...
.


Bibliography

*''Brand Identity for Television With Knobs On'',
Phaidon Press Phaidon Press is a global publisher of books on art, architecture, design, fashion, photography, and popular culture, as well as cookbooks, children's books, and travel books. The company is based in London and New York City, with additional off ...
, 1997


See also

*
Lambie-Nairn Superunion is a global brand and design consultancy, headquartered in London. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of WPP. Superunion was formed after five agencies merged in January 2018, and employs 500 people across 16 offices.


References


External links


National Portrait Gallery Sitting
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambie-Nairn, Martin 1945 births 2020 deaths 20th-century English artists 21st-century English artists Alumni of the University for the Creative Arts BAFTA winners (people) British graphic designers British television directors British television producers Spitting Image People from Croydon Television presentation in the United Kingdom