Blogger John Cooper considers the new Doctor Who logo and ponders how brands are used in TV and films:

The job of a show's logo

The reveal of the new Doctor Who logo was a bit of surprise. It's a bit retro, a bit modern, and as fans have pointed out they might have gone a bit crazy on the lens flare.

Being fan with a previous history in graphic design I've a healthy interest in logos or 'brands' to use evil marketing speak. In particular on inspection of the new Doctor Who identity I love the way the serifs, those little corner arches on lettering, go to the left on the word 'Doctor' and to the right on the word 'Who'. An almost subliminal reference to the man who travels backwards and forwards in time. In fact I got so excited by the new logo I took it to a t-shirt printing shop in an attempt to be the geekiest-geek at the coming weekends Doctor Who convention (Novelcon in Manchester), only to be told they couldn't recreate the gradient effect unless it was done on vinyl, which would look a bit rubbish. Another reason not to like lens flare.

Creating a brand logo, or re-envisioning a old one can be a risky business. It's the job of a brand not only to make the desired visual impact in a split second, but also to give you a flavour of the 'product', sowing the seeds of it's style to make it unique before you even watch the show it represents.

Current trends on big shows use the logo as briefly as possible with a simple accompanying jingle. Lost's logo is blurry, we can't see it clearly, reflecting the predicaments of the shows characters and twisty plots of the show. Heroes eclipse effect is a plot line from season one but also an ideal signature effect, hinting at great power hidden from sight, again similar to it's characters journeys in the show.

Another technique often used in teaser trailers and credits for both TV and film is to pan the camera around the logo in extreme close up, slowly revealing the logo. Good examples include Hellboy 2 and Tim Burton's Batman, but my personal favourite is the '90s show Bugs which uses wires, gadgets and Jesse Birdsall running towards a helicopter in silhouette again an orange sky – inside the lettering – promising a far sexier show than it actually ever delivered.

If you want a classic example of how to use a logo go straight to the top and the bold yellow outline of the Star Wars logo. No fade in, no zoom, it just jumps onto the screen with a loud John Williams trumpet fanfare then flies backwards sucking you, your imagination, and anything else not nailed down off into a sky full of stars in a galaxy far, far away.

This is a personal article by John Cooper, one of our site contributors. What’s your favourite sci-fi logo? Your thoughts welcome as always, in the comment thread below or on our forum.