cartoonnetwork

CHECK it, also known as It's A Fun Thing in Asia and Australia, was a set of four different brandings for the network that was first unveiled on March 22, 2010 and introduced on-air on May 29, 2010 in USA and October 1, 2011 in Asia and Australia, succeeding the Noods era. This era featured new shows that would define the network's future direction, such as Adventure Time, Regular Show, and The Amazing World of Gumball.

Designed by Brand New School, CHECK it makes heavy use of the black and white checkerboard motif which made up the network's first logo, as well as various CMYK color variations and various patterns. On May 30, 2011, the network's design language was slightly modified to become more flatter while still utilizing the music soundtracks as well as most elements of the previous iteration, to become known as CHECK it 2.0. On May 20, 2013, however, all of the network's bumpers, Next screens, and even all the music soundtracks were revamped with completely new branding utilizing minimal elements from the previous two iterations, to become known as CHECK it 3.0. The Next bumpers, for example, consisted of a spinning cube with an animated picture of a character from the show coming up next in a CMYK color palette, used alongside specially commissioned music from Impactist. On June 1, 2015, the bumpers were revamped again and relied on heavy gradients and new emojis while still utilizing the sign-off bumpers from the previous iteration, to become known as CHECK it 4.0.[1] The slogan "CHECK it" is a common quote in Regular Show.

From this era, it is a transition period from using 3D graphics to a flatter design with more vivid colors. CHECK it 1.0 is the last era to use such 3D graphics. It is concurrent with the Dimensional era on some other international feeds. The United States feed on June 13, 2016 made Dimensional the successor of CHECK it era. As of today, CHECK it 4.0 is the oldest supported era of all of the international feeds.

Programming

Several new original series premiered in this era, leading to the network's "renaissance" period.

Graphics

CHECK it 1.0

CHECK it 1.0

CHECK it 1.0, also known as the 2010 On-Air Brand Expansion, was the very first version of the CHECK it era to ever be used and the network's tenth branding. It was unveiled on March 22, 2010 when the network's current 2010 logo was registered at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and later at the network's 2010 upfront on April 21, and started on-air on May 29, replacing the Noods and Let's Go eras. It featured CMYK styles resembling the Checkerboard era. The Next bumpers were revamped to be 3 random clips of shows inside 3 checkers, but sometimes a dynamic next bumper was used where the character(s) interact within the checkerboard. Initially, the Next bumpers had no statements regarding either name of the show or whether it was new or a premiere or any other special. The Next bumpers had an announcer just saying "Next", and "Later" for nighttime versions of those except for the last one for the day before Adult Swim, and that was it. Eventually, around a month into the rebrand, sometime between late June and early July, actual dialogue, including the phrase "Coming up on Cartoon Network", stating the name of the show, and whether it was new or a premiere or any other special, was added to the Next bumpers.

During the daytime, the mid commercial bumpers were 5 seconds long and showed random situations on differently colored CMYK grid backgrounds. The '_ will be right back' bumpers that came right after a show finished ended with the Cartoon Network logo, but most of the 'now back to _' bumpers that came right before a show began did not. Many special daytime bumpers were also created by the network artists and involved either Check or Fail situations, two boys, a story, or other themed or seasonal 'memes' or 'songs' voiced by the announcers, and sometimes contained music from the CHECK it 1.0 soundtracks. During the nighttime, bumpers consisted of random clips from the shows. The clips from the '_ will be right back' bumpers that came right after a show finished were longer at 10 seconds and ended with differently colored doors closing to the Cartoon Network logo, but clips from the 'now back to _' bumpers that came right before a show began were only 5 seconds long and ended with differently colored doors closing to a blank gray closed door. An alternative ending to the nighttime bumpers involved black rectangular tiles colliding into each other to align into the Cartoon Network logo, apart from the closing doors. However, shows like Destroy Build Destroy and Dude, What Would Happen simply had their respective disclaimer bumpers act as the 'now back to _' bumper, which is why their nighttime bumpers were only the '_ will be right back' longer 10 second version. These nighttime bumper clips were either unedited directly from their respective shows, or they were played with the announcers commenting 'their funny takes' and/or music from the nighttime CHECK it 1.0 soundtracks.

The mascots for this era were sentient letters named C and N, who were played by the network's new announcers, Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney, respectively, which were based on the network's brand new logo. Their heads were visible only for the first three days of the rebrand until Memorial Day, and were dropped promptly afterwards. They are costumed by Jamie Moore and Brandon Seavey, with the costumes designed by Scollon Productions. Kocher and McElhaney still voiced the characters until the end of the CHECK it era in 2016, when they were replaced by unknown voice actors. The mascots were even given a series of shorts in France on Cartoon Network's French YouTube channel, with French voice actors voicing C and N. The mascots were dropped in the end of the Dimensional 2.0 era in 2018.

The network's four-note mnemonic (as of today) was also introduced in this era, which is composed by Michael Kohler for Bluetube and echoes the four syllables in the network's name "Car-toon Net-work".

Description

"It’s a brand new Cartoon Network. After months of drawing, erasing, snacking, singing, dreaming, painting on dogs, arm wrestling, and, above all, animating, we’re finally ready to share our top-to-bottom brand expansion of the 18-year-old network. Our graphic overhaul included everything from redrawing their logo to creating a typographic system that could be played out on the airwaves, online and in print.

We imagined the checker as a gameboard, ready to be played; a graphic designer’s grid; a rule-based system that encouraged unexpected permutations. Leading an incredibly robust (and checkered) team of designers, illustrators, animal trainers, and animators, Brand New School created an arsenal for the CN team. From lower thirds, to bugs, to menus, to endpages to idents, to tapping our favorite illustrators for network IDs, we constantly looked for ways to explore this simple idea, building a visual language that fit a multitude of different parts together in harmonious yet unpredictable ways.

A giant thanks to everyone at Cartoon Network who both encouraged our creative process and gave us invaluable insight along the way. Kudos also go to Mad Decent and Michael Kohler for fantastic music and sound design. And now, without further ado, check it…" - Brand New School

Read the official press release about the rebrand here.

CHECK it 2.0: YEEEAUHHHH!

Main article: YEEEAUHHHH!
Cartoon_Network_2011_YEEEAUHHHH_(CHECK_it_2.0)_Bumpers

Cartoon Network 2011 YEEEAUHHHH (CHECK it 2.0) Bumpers

CHECK it 2.0, also known as the YEEEAUHHHH! era, was the second version of the CHECK it era that debuted on May 30, 2011 and the network's eleventh branding. It was used alongside CHECK it 1.0 as it used most 'main' branding from 1.0 despite adding several new bumpers and discontinuing some others with the most notable change being the replacement of the sign-off with a more comprehensive one, but it made several structural changes in the overall look including flattening the design language to a simplified black and white design, ultimately making the YEEEAUHHHH! era quite different from 1.0. This era is similar to the Yes! era as it uses a quote from Regular Show, much like the other one did by using a quote from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy.

It was an America-exclusive era bearing similarities with the Block era used in Latin America and Europe.

CHECK it 3.0

CheckIt3

CHECK it 3.0, also known as the 2013 Summer Refresh, was the third version of the CHECK it era introduced on May 20, 2013 and the network's twelfth branding. A complete overhaul of the design language, this era featured updated next bumpers and a CMYK color profile to give it a more vibrant yet flat look in sharp contrast to both the black and white flat 2.0 look or the colorful but collaged 1.0 look. For the mid commercial bumpers, random clips from the shows were played unedited directly from their respective shows or on loop for a few times with a caption phrase and music from the brand new CHECK it 3.0 soundtracks, to reflect the network's entry into the 'Internet Meme' era. It was defunct on May 31, 2015 after 4.0 was introduced. The sign-on and sign-off bumpers were changed to sunrise and sunset backgrounds, respectively, featuring Uncle Grandpa saying "Good Morning", however, the sign-off was eventually replaced with five different sign-off clips from four shows: two from Adventure Time, and one each from Gumball, Uncle Grandpa, and Steven Universe. Although 3.0 did a full branding replacement unlike 2.0, it still used things like the morphing, letter, and disclaimer bumpers from the previous two CHECK it eras.

CHECK it 3.5: Are You CN What We're Sayin'?

CHECK it 3.5, also known as the Are You CN What We're Sayin'? era, was introduced on June 23, 2014 and the network's thirteenth branding which was completely concurrent with 3.0 and it introduced an app (CN Sayin) where kids can record themselves and sometimes appear on Cartoon Network. This era was mostly seen in "(Fresh) New Thursdays" promos. The bumpers had phrases on their shows at the time like "Homies Help Homies, Always" or "You Can't Touch Music, But Music Can Touch You". This was also an America-exclusive era. It was defunct on May 31, 2015 along with 3.0 after 4.0 was introduced.

CHECK it 4.0: Burst

Main article: Burst
Maxresdefault-1-

CHECK it 4.0, also known as the Burst era, was the fourth version of the CHECK it era introduced on June 1, 2015 and the network's fourteenth branding. This era also completely overhauled the design language by introducing gradient-based backgrounds that are applied to bumpers and a new 'emoji' motif was, where every show would be given their own emoji. The Next bumpers were short clips of shows accompanied by an emoji of the show in the corner of the screen. The sign-on and disclaimer bumpers were changed to an upbeat tone, whereas the sign-off bumpers were from the same assortment from 3.0.

CHECK it 4.5

CHECK it 4.5 was confirmed to be the Dimensional era on June 13, 2016.

Branding Credits

CHECK it 1.0[2]

Produced at Brand New School, New York

Staff:

Gallery

Original Version

This version was made sometime between 2009 and 2010 with Qube Konstrukt, but creative difficulties led them to pick Brand New School. Notice how the font bears a striking resemblance to the immediately preceding Let's Go nighttime era.

"The studio pitched on a complete broadcast design package, encompassing logo redesign, examples of package elements and keyframes for animated channel idents. Leveraging the checkerboard motif of the original logo and inspired by Rube Goldberg machines - the rebrand featured animated 'blocks' that transformed and constructed themselves into 'fun generators' - a metaphor for the Cartoon Network brand itself." - Qube Konstrukt[3]

Trivia

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.regularcapital.com/2015/06/cartoon-network-usa-rebranded-to-check-it-4-0-today-01062015/
  2. ↑ https://cargocollective.com/adamwentworth/Cartoon-Network-Rebrand-1
  3. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20100328134527/http://www.qubekonstrukt.com/branding/cartoon-network/
Eras
Checkerboard (Starburst) • Powerhouse • Block • CN City (Yes!) • Summer 2007 • Fall • Noods/Toonix (Let's Go!) • CHECK it (1.0 • YEEEAUHHHH! • 3.0 • Are You CN What We're Sayin'? • 3.5 (International) • Burst) • Dimensional (1.0 • GO! • Mashup • Swirl • Sticker) • Redraw Your World • Pastel