Here's the world's longest intro:

What's good branding? What makes good design? What makes good television presentation? To be honest, that's up to your audience. If you know who you are after, if you know who they are and what connects with them, then you'll know if you are on the right path and doing the right thing.

I have to start by telling you I really hate the word 'branding'. It was a buzz word years ago that unfortunately a lot of tv folks have made part of their vocabulary. A lot of people talk about branding but very few of them actually know what it is. Here's my take: branding is not your channel logo. Branding is what that logo actually stands for, not in the minds of the people who work at your television station or who sign the checks...but in the minds of the viewers who are watching it.

The fundamental here is to look at EVERYTHING you do from the viewer's perspective. They don't know your marketing strategy, they don't know how long it takes to make a graphic, they don't know your rollout plan, they don't care...all they know is what they are seeing up there on the screen. If they like it or if they don't. You've always got to ask yourself the basic questions about everything you put out there on the airwaves. What does this mean about my channel, whats this really saying to my viewers, who the hell am I really talking to here? And a zillion other questions. Its all perspective and perspective is part of positioning.

There are some channels out there that will launch or re-launch with a look or a new look that will end up meaning nothing (except cost) because they are more concerned with what they consider to be the 'bigger picture' items than what everything combined together actually says and means to your audience who is going to be (hopefully) watching it. Now if your audience doesn't see your big picture, then you don't have one. That kind of thinking is superficial over substance and without substance, you die. So here is the nitty gritty of good television design: focus, clarity of the vision, seeing through of the positioning strategy. Make sure you are always presenting a clear, concise message to your audience. It doesn't take much to screw that all up, but that shouldn't stop you from challenging yourself and your audience.

Advertising 101 Lesson #1: It's a mistake to believe that you come up with a catch-phrase slogan or a snazzy logo and the world falls at your feet. That is superficial over substance and as you know, without substance you die.

This is not a high concept. Art, movies, books, music, tv...if its celebrated then there is a reason for it...there's something there that connects with its audience, that unsaid little thing. That little bit of soul. To create something of substance, something that works, you have to connect to your audience. Not through your packaging, not through your logo, not through your promotions...but through the ideas of what those same things stand for.

Theres a hell of a lot to maintaining that level with your audience, and it all comes down to just two things...positioning and co-ordination. Without them, you have a mess.

Everything is derived from positioning. Positioning is what people think about your product, your channel. Its that simple little picture that they carry around in their heads of what you are. If its the right picture, then your chances for success are terrific. If its a confused picture or no picture at all, then there's trouble. Think of Disney, MTV, Discovery and just those names should bring to mind some idea, some picture, some representation of who they are. They should otherwise they haven't done a very good job in your market. Once you understand who you are, who you're going after, it makes it much easier to get a design sense of what is right and what is wrong for your channel. Again, think of Discovery...they don't use MTV style graphics or music mixes. And MTV...they don't use Discovery style, they can't. It's not reflective of who they are, of who their audience is.

Your channel's visual style should be derived from its positioning. The positioning becomes a theme that drives the look of what your channel is. If you're optimistic, then you don't look pessimistic. That means bright, excited, enthusiastic colours. But it doesn't mean Hello Kitty. It might mean you can kill Hello Kitty because you're also fun.

On-air, all of this is essential, especially with things like your channel ids. Ids are a lot more than 5 second clips. Each and everyone of them are mini positioning statements to your audience. They are there not only to drive home the name of who you are, they are there to celebrate your diversity, they are snapshots of who you are, simple thoughts underscoring your image. They should be driving home all those layers to your audience at the same time.

Pretend were designing a new channel from scratch. Getting outside help isn't a bad thing by the way. There's lots of design companies and individuals (like me!) who do a lot more than just design. They are strategists, television specialists. If you don't have these kind of people in your organization, get them...but until then, rent them. Find the kind of people who make you hammer out who and what you really are, who you're really talking to, who you're after and help you chart a path to get there. There's links below for a good start.

Anyway, we're designing a channel. Its a new concept, a new market, whatever. One assumes that you have a target market picked out, you know who you're going after. So first and foremost, you work on the concept of building and solidifying the brand identity for that market. Remember, that's not the logo, its what it stands for. Answer the questions...what is the channel, what does it stand for, what is it's personality, what do you have that will make people want to tune in, how do you showcase that stuff?

Does it work better for your audience than what is already out there? Are you really going after the right market? What's it going to be like 6 months, 2 years from now? What other factors does it depend on, what other forces could affect it?

Make sure everyone involved in your channel understands and believes in the underlying principals of what you're doing. If they don't then maybe there's something wrong with it...or them. Never do anything just because a manager tells you to. Do it because its right or don't do it at all.

Heres the only really, really hard part. The continued success of all of this always comes down to dedicated, motivated people. Your channel needs people who actually believe in what they are selling to the audience, actually love their channels, love their jobs, love what they do for a living. If that attitude doesn't exist, then its going to show up on-air...or rather, not show up on air. You'll still get the fundamentals, but what you won't get is that little bit extra...that little bit of soul, blood, sweat and tears. And that makes all the difference in the world.