‘Never Not Stimulating’, the creative idea for BBC Two is expressed through a series of short animated films, that collectively reflect the breadth of emotions evoked by the channel’s content.

Each ‘mood’ animation is unique, employing a different animation technique to best convey its spirit. But they all share a precise structure and feature the iconic curve of the numeral 2, which is consistently revealed every 7 seconds.

In application, the mood animations are selected to reflect the mood of content, and are featured at the beginning and end of the programme trailers. The two curve acts as the glue, connecting one mood to the next – transporting the viewer from one emotional state to another, and transforming the entire ad break into one long ident that creates a seamless viewing experience.

BBC Two has always been home to some of the best British programmes, but with the emergence of new digital players, and a brand identity that hasn’t changed in over 25 years,

audiences have become unsure of what the channel stands for.

Worse still, when audiences were pushed to describe BBC Two’s character, it was felt to be safe and old-fashioned – everything that the brand stands against.

We were tasked with developing a new identity for BBC Two – one that could breathe new life into the brand, and help the channel refocus its experience by making it feel unmistakeably ‘Two’.

BBC Two’s content is there to make you feel something. It’s television that stimulates – emotions, thoughts, conversation. Whether that’s a hard-hitting documentary, a raucous comedy or a mind-blowing science programme. This simple observation inspired the creative idea: ‘Never Not Stimulating’.

Outside of establishing and creating the precise animation structure, the biggest challenge we faced was to make sure that the breadth of the channel’s content came across in the breadth of our different mood animations.

To ensure diversity, all animations were created through a series of individual collaborations with some of the best of British and international animation talent.

The animators were hand-picked for specific moods, to ensure the mood of each animation was enhanced by their style and technique.

To date, over 30 different mood animations have been created, employing various animation techniques including stop frame, live action and CGI.

Audio for each animation features a simple two-note construct, but each one has its own sound design, specifically created to amplify the atmospheric journey through it.