It was lately revealed that the as soon as beloved streaming platform HBO Max rebranded into a less complicated, one would possibly argue ergonomic, “Max.” Naturally, the surprising drop arrived with appreciable animosity.
Longtime HBO followers, who’ve already expressed a way of betrayal after the service’s sudden elimination of many titles over the previous 12 months, mocked the change. On Reddit, responses like “Simply plain Max is idiotic” and “Max simply appears like a streaming service for Cinemax” show customers’ confusion in regards to the change. Whereas we already know that rebrands may be troublesome for individuals to deal with, some are positively more durable to grasp than others.
I lately chatted with Forsman & Bodenfors Artistic Director Sarah Ratinetz about HBO’s current rebrand. We touched on emotional attachments, if content material is extra vital than design, and her candy private connection to HBO.
Earlier than we leap into the questions, I’d like to know your tackle this redesign.
This feels extra like a enterprise choice than a visible id initiative; extra rebrand than redesign. Treating HBO as its personal entity throughout the Max platform is an attention-grabbing technique to take care of its fairness. We’ll see if it holds up.
Why do you suppose persons are upset on the elimination of “HBO” within the identify? Does it must do with the model’s premiumness?
HBO has been the apex of status tv for the final 50 years. After I was rising up, it was a standing image. It additionally modified the notion of what TV programming may very well be. I feel many people can mark intervals of our lives based mostly on an HBO present that was airing. I can perceive the emotional attachment {that a} era has to the community, its historical past, and what it stands for. And rebrands are a pure time to essentially admire these connections. Enjoyable truth: my in-laws really met working at HBO within the ’80s!
What do you consider the model taking the “O” from HBO and reusing it for the “A” in Max?
All the components throughout the new “Max” emblem play properly collectively. The brand new iteration of “Max” feels extra up to date than the sooner model, with extra rounded letter types. The lowercase “a” leaves room for quite a lot of inventive selections. I’m excited to see what the workforce does with this.
Do you suppose there’s energy in a reputation so simple as “Max?” Why or why not?
The identify Max delivers on the enterprise and content material objectives of the corporate in its enlargement of the platform’s choices. Nevertheless, it lacks the stickiness of its opponents. “Max” is a suffix and a qualifier that we’ve seen used within the business for a few years. For all the questions across the rebrand, I feel one factor is definite: it has the content material. It’s the content material that we’ll exit of our manner for, and it’s the aggressive edge that the model must thrive and acquire new subscribers.
When you had been to have been in command of this rebrand, what would you may have finished for the design and why?
I feel there was and nonetheless is the potential to construct out the Max id system. I’m curious whether or not there may be extra to return. There’s a chance to make use of design to speak the strategic and content material imaginative and prescient of the model in a manner that drives unity and cohesion between the Discovery+ and HBO platforms.
