Acorn TV
Brand Identity

Studio: Trollbäck+Company
Role: Chief Creative Officer

Acorn TV has long been a beloved service for fans of British TV, but as their content slate expands beyond Britain, the brand needed to evolve without losing its core DNA.

Our journey with Acorn TV began in 2020 with a rebrand that launched the service globally. (You can see this work if you scroll down.) After years of successful growth, we updated Acorn TV’s strategy and visual identity to transcend location and unite a world of mysteries and dramas that share a rich sense of place while staying rooted in a British sensibility.

Acorn TV’s new design system brings a refined playfulness. We redesigned the logo and introduced a monogram that provides a memorable frame for content while building brand attribution in small spaces. The reinvented palette was inspired by the signature “British Racing Green” of UK automobile designers. We also developed a whimsical motion language where animations open with a wink and then nudge to hero messaging.

The new brand voice is grounded in “brilliant-isms”—subtle turns of phrase and intonations that feel ever so British. A mystery that’s “quite nice.” A drama that’s “rather lovely.” Enter the new tagline: Brilliant. It effortlessly telegraphs Acorn TV’s roots, proclaims the feeling you get when watching, and is why so many subscribe. For the rebrand campaign, we expanded the tagline to its logical conclusion: Acorn TV is Brilliant, In a Nutshell.

View the full case study at Trollbäck+Company.

When we began work with Acorn TV, the streaming service had yet to be acquired by AMC Networks. Starting in 2019, we worked closely with stakeholders to refine the strategic positioning, verbal identity, and visual design to modernize the brand without losing its loyal and extremely dedicated fanbase.

Our updated logo, palette, and art deco-inspired typeface retained Acorn TV’s quirky, classic brand character. An adaptive “flag” graphic device—telegraphing the platform’s international offering—acts as a dynamic showcase for Acorn TV originals, genres, marathons, and collections. As we completed the rebrand, Acorn TV was acquired by AMC Networks family, where we helped it expand into more than 30 countries with an audience-focused strategy that has earned it one of the lowest churn rates of any streamer in the market today.