Providing Provocative, Alternative and Irreverent Video Content
1
The Background
Pulped is a new digital content creator, dedicated to providing audiences with provocative video content. In a world where most digital producers aren’t making content with narratives that are "of the moment," Pulped stands out.
Pulped features real people in real time. The stories are recorded in the moment, not explored via interviews or overdubbed by commentators. Traditional broadcasters moving into the online space are constrained by regulation and their desire to protect their brand with their wider audience. Pulped, on the other hand, goes for the jugular.
Specializing in the unconventional, Pulped often focuses on rebellious subject matters, bringing audiences and viewers compelling stories (both real and fictional) that are raw and rough. Pulped also celebrates diversity, from the LGBTQ community to sex workers to people who are disabled, including a wide range of lifestyles and reaching audiences who celebrate diversity as well.
Uncompromising, raw and fresh, Pulped is a disruptive force giving youth audiences the content they crave.
2
The Challenge
As a hot new entity in the world of video content, our first challenge was to create a future-facing identity for Pulped. It deserved a visual language fitting its alternative, irreverent lens that would drive interest and affiliation. Pulped needed to play up its unique edginess and differentiate itself from its peers.
Next it needed a platform from which to shout and share its content—a home to evolve its brand and reinforce its raw and unconventional qualities. Or, in its own words, the design should “scream from the rooftops that Pulped thinks it is different from all the other online television providers.”
The website needed to stand out from the crowd as much as its content and tone of voice—without hindering the viewing experience or detracting from the content itself.
The site itself had to host a variety of content types and forms—video and written, short-form, long-form, episodic and non-episodic—and be super easy for its content editors to manage.
We take our brand name seriously—Pulped is a point of view, it's a lens, it's a brand. And every frame of our content and page on our site exudes the raw, fresh, edgy and youthful outlook of our name.
3
The Solution
A Brand Big on Personality
Logo
After iterating on many logo concepts exploring Pulped’s brand values and symbolism around "video," the team fell in love with a bold, cinematic and unapologetic logo. The glitch effect adds a raw, rebellious edge, setting the brand in a realm of errors, disruption and retro technology, which can be carried through to inspire other applications. The glitch, which can morph over time, looks dynamic even when it's stationary and also lends itself very well to motion, allowing for a constantly shifting, unique identity.
Color
With black as its primary color, Pulped lives in a cinematic, alternative universe. Splashes of modern, provocative color add a youthful edge—a twist on the tones found on screen test cards. Black borders and outlines give it a retro feel and unapologetic, hard edges.
Type
A combination of heavy uppercase extended and condensed fonts allow for a versatile typographic system for promoting content while creating an in-your-face aesthetic.
A Home for Exploring Content
Pulped doesn’t yet have a multitude of videos—it’s not only new, but its content is more considered and has decent production value. Because of this, its homepage needed to be simple yet effective, focused on selling and disseminating the content it does have. Edge-to-edge design and just three ways to promote content (dynamic hero previews, an episodes block and a shows block) allow for large, engaging imagery. This system shows an optimal breadth of content, and has the ability to adapt as more content is created.
The player encourages binge-watching and the creation of playlists through a flexible, device-friendly design, and shareable content. Video previews tease the content. A visually-compelling reading experience is accompanied by sticky advertising.
