Great British Railways: Livery, branding and appearance?

[221101 Voyager]

Here is some cheaper and quicker to apply forms of branding

Where GWR, LNER, EMR, Greater Anglia, Avanti logos etc are.

Replace them with something like this, but with the appropriate regional name underneath

The beauty of this is that train liveries need no altering, therefore introducing a recognisable standardised, yet classy brand across the board, with minimal cost.



For services in the south east...


Just pop this logo on and job done!
of course!


Regional and non-south east, non-intercity services in the rest of England.


Just pop this logo on and job done!
of course!

There you go, here is a cheap and easy way to have standard brands across England!

 

[DJ_K666]

Mods/admins can we have reaction buttons a la RMWEB on here please?

Here is some cheaper and quicker to apply forms of branding

Where GWR, LNER, EMR, Greater Anglia, Avanti logos etc are.

Replace them with something like this, but with the appropriate regional name underneath

The beauty of this is that train liveries need no altering, therefore introducing a recognisable standardised, yet classy brand across the board, with minimal cost.

View attachment 96706View attachment 96709View attachment 96710View attachment 96711

For services in the south east...
View attachment 96712

Just pop this logo on and job done!
of course!


Regional and non-south east, non-intercity services in the rest of England.

View attachment 96713
Just pop this logo on and job done!
of course!

There you go, here is a cheap and easy way to have standard brands across England!

Yes please!

 

[Bletchleyite]

@XAM2175 , @Bletchleyite , @PerryPacer , @Gareth
Seen as you guys liked my 91 mockups, I thought I do some on 80x trains and a 745 for Anglia.

Best part about all these designs is that they would use the same shade of silver as the base colour and the same colour for the doors. The only colour variatons are for each region.


'InterCity Great Western' IEP
View attachment 96690


'InterCity East Coast' Azuma
View attachment 96692

'InterCity West Coast' IEP

View attachment 96693
'InterCity East Midlands' Aurora
View attachment 96694

'InterCity East Anglia'
V1
View attachment 96698
V2
View attachment 96699
I designed these all this morning

Looks good. The second FLIRT one reminds me of a livery I've seen already but I can't think where!

 

[AdamWW]

Mods/admins can we have reaction buttons a la RMWEB on here please?

I'd click "agree" to that. If I could.

 

[HSTEd]

To be honest I'd quite like just copying SBB station signage, screens and such wholesale.

But then I have a soft spot for flip panel displays.

 

[Rhydgaled]

Here is some cheaper and quicker to apply forms of branding

Where GWR, LNER, EMR, Greater Anglia, Avanti logos etc are.

Replace them with something like this, but with the appropriate regional name underneath

The beauty of this is that train liveries need no altering, therefore introducing a recognisable standardised, yet classy brand across the board, with minimal cost.

View attachment 96706View attachment 96709View attachment 96710View attachment 96711

For services in the south east...
View attachment 96712

Just pop this logo on and job done!
of course!


Regional and non-south east, non-intercity services in the rest of England.

View attachment 96713
Just pop this logo on and job done!
of course!

There you go, here is a cheap and easy way to have standard brands across England!

I like it, but please swap the east and west coast colours (and maybe make the East Coast blue darker and with less of a green tint; more GNER less Arriva). That red-based branding is very nice but just shouts West Coast to me and putting it on the East Coast feels very, very wrong.

 

[221101 Voyager]

Mods/admins can we have reaction buttons a la RMWEB on here please?

Yes please!

Thank you!

I like it, but please swap the east and west coast colours (and maybe make the East Coast blue darker and with less of a green tint; more GNER less Arriva). That red-based branding is very nice but just shouts West Coast to me and putting it on the East Coast feels very, very wrong.

Thank you!


So my short term idea to bring InterCity sevices under one brand is to replace the existing logos on all the Intercity rolling stock with logos like these.


Ignore the background colours, they just show how they may look on existing liveries.


So, GWR would go from this


TO this



AWC from this


To this


So in basic terms, I'm talking about replacing all existing logos with the Intercity type ones above, so liveries require no alteration and yet you can still have a classy and consistant brand across all intercity trains.

 

[StephenHunter]

They're planning to use Rail Alphabet 2.0 and the double arrow, so you might want get something like:

[Double Arrow] | Great British Railways | Great Eastern

 

[221101 Voyager]

They're planning to use Rail Alphabet 2.0 and the double arrow, so you might want get something like:

[Double Arrow] | Great British Railways | Great Eastern

I'll give that a go, and see what I can come up with.


@StephenHunter
I must admit, this design doesn't have the same impact as the InterCity swallow branding

 

[StephenHunter]

Excellent.

 

[221101 Voyager]

Excellent.

See above I've made a mock up, @StephenHunter

It's not the same as the Swallow Intercity branding though is it?


I've got a few ideas I'd like to submit to the DfT and see what they say, how would I go about doing this?

It's been my dream for as long as I can remember to design identities for trains so if could influence the final GBR design in any way it'd be a dream come true!


@Bletchleyite

Here is my final designs for InterCity branding.

On post 242, you can see some very quick mockups i made of my design on real trains.


What do you think, should I try and submit my ideas to the DfT?

 

[zwk500]

It's not the same as the Swallow Intercity branding though is it?

As much as I like the Swallow logo, and it is a design classic, I think it's day was done. In today's world, it looks a bit like an old printer failing towards the end of the cartridge. Not the clean, consistent, flat look of a LCD screen. It worked wonderfully well on the Sharp, clean angles of the Class 90 and 91, but with today's smoother 800 Series and Pendos it doesn't sit quite as well.

Look at the current GWR and Avanti logos - clear, crisp, straight and full. No shading/gradient or italics to confuse a Vector Graphic so it can scale smoothly on any size of screen and when zooming in/out.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Look at the current GWR and Avanti logos - clear, crisp, straight and full. No shading/gradient or italics to confuse a Vector Graphic so it can scale smoothly on any size of screen and when zooming in/out.

The Avanti branding package is, to be honest, rubbish. The GWR one I agree.

 

[221101 Voyager]

As much as I like the Swallow logo, and it is a design classic, I think it's day was done. In today's world, it looks a bit like an old printer failing towards the end of the cartridge. Not the clean, consistent, flat look of a LCD screen. It worked wonderfully well on the Sharp, clean angles of the Class 90 and 91, but with today's smoother 800 Series and Pendos it doesn't sit quite as well.

Look at the current GWR and Avanti logos - clear, crisp, straight and full. No shading/gradient or italics to confuse a Vector Graphic so it can scale smoothly on any size of screen and when zooming in/out.

Ok, how about this -

The Avanti branding package is, to be honest, rubbish. The GWR one I agree.

It certainly is, hence why I'm trying to kill it off!


The GWR is good.

At the end of the day GBR are saying they want a more consistent identity, what on earth are they going to come up with I wonder, no doubt they'll pay some mug millions to design a dull and uninspiring brand and image. When they could've hired me for free!

 

[Bletchleyite]

I still think Best Impressions would, with the right brief, do an excellent job.

Mind you this is in the right colours...

Class 165 in original Chiltern livery - Peter Skuse (Wikipedia)

 

[zwk500]

The Avanti branding package is, to be honest, rubbish. The GWR one I agree.

The triangle logo is awful, but the Typeface is OK. I've not used Avanti very much before the lockdown so can't remember what it's like on board.

Ok, how about this -

At the end of the day GBR are saying they want a more consistent identity, what on earth are they going to come up with I wonder, no doubt they'll pay some mug millions to design a dull and uninspiring brand and image. When they could've hired me for free!

Those look pretty good. Don't get me wrong - I like your ideas, they look really nice I'm just thinking about what GBR are more likely to actually produce.

An interesting one to look at for ideas of speed and style is the F1 rebrand when Liberty took over - it was a tired logo but well known, so they refreshed it, cleaned it up, repackaged the whole 'look and feel' of the production quite nicely. It's not to everybody's tastes but it does tell you what they want F1 to be seen as really quite well.

 

[221101 Voyager]

I still think Best Impressions would, with the right brief, do an excellent job.

Do we know who is designing the new identity and any early previews of what it might be like?

Those look pretty good. Don't get me wrong - I like your ideas, they look really nice I'm just thinking about what GBR are more likely to actually produce.

An interesting one to look at for ideas of speed and style is the F1 rebrand when Liberty took over - it was a tired logo but well known, so they refreshed it, cleaned it up, repackaged the whole 'look and feel' of the production quite nicely. It's not to everybody's tastes but it does tell you what they want F1 to be seen as really quite well.

Thank you.

At the end of the day, my intention is to design a new identity that is recognisable and that has a bit of class to it, as most designs these days are pretty boring and forgetable. Ahem - Thameslink for instance!

 

[Grumpy Git]

The Chiltern livery above is good and I agree that Avanti West Coast is dreadful. Whoever came-up with the triangle design should be made to sit on one for eternity.

 

[reddragon]

I see all the artists are having a field day!!

Some look good, some are err . . well better not say!

Please carry on, many livery options still to go yet!

 

[zwk500]

Mind you this is in the right colours...

Class 165 in original Chiltern livery - Peter Skuse (Wikipedia)

I found this effort on Google, which also happens to be the right colours

[Class 377 mocked up in DDA-compliant Network Southeast colours]

There's also a cracking picture of a 67 + Rake in NSE colours.

 

[221101 Voyager]

I found this effort on Google, which also happens to be the right colours
View attachment 96730
[Class 377 mocked up in DDA-compliant Network Southeast colours]

There's also a cracking picture of a 67 + Rake in NSE colours.

There you go, NSE still looks mint!

If they don't revive this livery they must be mad!

 

[Bletchleyite]

The triangle logo is awful, but the Typeface is OK.

The font you get "A V A N T I W E S T C O A S T" in looks good, but the A on the triangle is Helvetica and so boring. But yes, it's a rubbish "device" too.

The colour scheme is also drab and washed-out, and the very light green looks yuk.

No "Italian flair" at all!

I've not used Avanti very much before the lockdown so can't remember what it's like on board.

The interiors are as per VT for now (blue and red), though the planned ones seem to be blue and orange, which is all a bit Chiltern or Stagecoach and not very classy either!

 

[physics34]

To be honest I'd quite like just copying SBB station signage, screens and such wholesale.

But then I have a soft spot for flip panel displays.

Yeh Swiss style so simple and clear.

 

[Bletchleyite]

To be honest I'd quite like just copying SBB station signage, screens and such wholesale.

But then I have a soft spot for flip panel displays.

To copy the screens we would have to go "full Takt" - not showing all calling points relies on them being consistent.

I think now we have LCD/OLED as a viable option we could make things look nicer, with actual pictures of the formation and similar, like the dastardly cheese-eaters the other side of the Channel do! The PIS is part of the brand.

Having said "the PIS is part of the brand" - dump Anne and replace her with regional voices with an upbeat but clear manner. Phil Sayer did this, Anne is clear but just sounds bored. I really like the Victoria-Wood-esque "happy soft Northern" voice on the 195s - it's a great piece of "audio branding". And don't go to text-to-speech until it can match this.

Also a national jingle!

 

[the sniper]

To copy the screens we would have to go "full Takt" - not showing all calling points relies on them being consistent.

Far from ideal if you're not local or a frequent railway user. Even being reasonably familiar with it, stops being omitted fills me with doubt and leaves me reliant on using the phone/internet even when stood on the platform in front of the train, something I actively advise against in the UK!

 

[physics34]

The Chiltern livery above is good and I agree that Avanti West Coast is dreadful. Whoever came-up with the triangle design should be made to sit on one for eternity

Anyone with any sense knows that a horizontally moving vehicle looks better with stripes than triangles or vertical shapes. Idiots who designed it. Thankfully itll be gone soon.

I do wonder if and when the instruction goes out to halt current rebranding of stock.... and then start applying the new stuff. Wonder if its already fully designed!

 

[221101 Voyager]

Anyone with any sense knows that a horizontally moving vehicle looks better with stripes than triangles or vertical shapes. Idiots who designed it. Thankfully itll be gone soon.

I do wonder if and when the instruction goes out to halt current rebranding of stock.... and then start applying the new stuff. Wonder if its already fully designed!

I've noticed LNWR haven't applied any new vinyls to their most recently refurbed 350/1s, not seen one of those have vinyls applied since about December 2020 or earlier. So there are quite a few plain grey 350/1s about now! Wonder if they know something we don't yet?

 

[physics34]

I've noticed LNWR haven't applied any new vinyls to their most recently refurbed 350/1s, not seen one of those have vinyls applied since about December 2020 or earlier. So there are quite a few plain grey 350/1s about now! Wonder if they know something we don't yet?

They maybe the ones going off lease but dont quote me on that

 

[Gareth]

Ok, how about this -

View attachment 96728

Yes, I like it.

I did something not too dissimilar a while back, although it was based the idea of vertically integrated reginal companies fanning out of the London terminals (Overground, Merseyrail, TfW & Scotrail not included). It's heavily based on the Japanese railway model...

I never did any livery for these but I always envisioned a play on the logo somewhat similar to the old HTV logo.

 

[HSTEd]

To copy the screens we would have to go "full Takt" - not showing all calling points relies on them being consistent.

Perhaps, but even just the white on blue and font styling would be a major step up.

I think now we have LCD/OLED as a viable option we could make things look nicer

The problem with trying to make it pretty is that in a few years it might just look dated.
Utilitarianism is quite resilient in this regard