SYFY WIRE REBRAND
SYFY WIRE takes fandom seriously… but themselves, not so much.
MY ROLE — Art Direction & Design Lead
PRODUCED AT — Block & Tackle
CLIENT — SYFY Wire
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Original SYFY Branding by Trollback
As the premier platform for all things sci-fi, horror, and fantasy, WIRE had outgrown its identity as an offshoot of the SYFY Network and needed a voice that matched its community’s passion.
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Our Take
I the privilege to lead the brand design refresh, reinterpreting the SYFY Master Brand into a distinctive visual identity for SYFY WIRE. The work spanned branding, design, animation, and activation. Internally, we called WIRE the “crazy cousin” in the SYFY family.
We started by understanding what WIRE offers and who the audience is. Centered around “We Are Obsessed Too,” we positioned the brand not as a network talking to fans, but as one of them, sharing the same passion and unfiltered energy.
We wanted to capture the raw, impulsive energy when fans love something so much they just have to tag it, post it, share it, NOW. The sticker motif became our visual metaphor: raw, urgent, like guerrilla street posters. It’s not corporate; it’s fan-made. Each sticker feels like an upvote, a badge of approval. Like someone saying, “I was here. I love this.”
STYLEGUIDE
With WIRE appearing across a variety of mediums, some platforms prioritized legibility while others prioritized vibe. We created a spectrum, ranging from mild to spicy, to guide the level of design expressiveness.
Typography The original SYFY Hero font felt tall and rigid, so we created a bespoke extended version called SYFY Action Hero.
Brand Ingredients include WIRE logo stickers in a guerrilla street-poster style, comic “pows,” and SYFY WIRE bands.
Color Centering on the iconic SYFY “Grellow,” we drew inspiration from vintage comic books and curated a palette that evokes both excitement and nostalgia. The slightly desaturated tones pair perfectly with the bold, hot Grellow.
Image Treatment We also created a robust image presentation guide, detailing color treatments, cropping, and overall visual balance.
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FRANCHISE DESIGN
Using the brand ingredients as a foundation, we extended the visual system to cover over 14 SYFY WIRE franchises and programs.
Motion Language I worked closely with motion designers to ensure the rawness and urgency of the brand DNA were accurately represented in the motion language.
SOCIALS
We built an entire ethos around the brand language, creating mockups for Instagram, YouTube banners, podcasts, and Facebook accounts.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________COMIC CON
SYFY WIRE was one of the major sponsors of Comic-Con 2019. We rolled out a series of print campaigns, and it was a huge success. I’m incredibly proud to see these designs living in spaces so close to the fans.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________SWAGS
FREEEEEBIEEEES, YAY!
