A&E (previously called the Arts & Entertainment Network ) – American cable and satellite channel. Besides United States it also is broadcast in Canada, Australia, Latin America and Europe.
The American media company A&E was created in 1984 as a result of the merger of Alpha Repertory Television Service and Entertainment Channel, a premium cable channel. On February 1 of the same year, the Arts & Entertainment cable channel was launched, which was initially focused on the arts and culture. However, the chosen direction did not have much success for the channel, and the management started thinking of a new concept.
Thus, in May 1995, the channel was officially renamed the A&E Network so that it would no longer be associated with high art and culture. In order to attract the audience, the program schedule of the renewed channel was diluted with serials and reality shows. This is what A&E is still famous for today.
And, since 2002, the channel decided to become even more progressive and directed its attention to attracting a younger audience and regularly began to produce various TV films and programs on edgy topics, as well as series.
In terms of visual identity, A&E sticks to classics and has always used only a traditional black-and-white color palette, with the overall composition becoming more and more laconic after each new redesign. The badge of the channel is all about excellence, simplicity, and readability.
The very first logo for Arts Entertainment Network was introduced in 1984 and featured a solid and confident badge with the bold black circle as its main element. Over the circle, there was elegant cursive lettering placed in three levels, and an enlarged white ampersand, set in the left part of the black geometric figure. This version of the logo stayed with the network for less than one year.
In 1985 the logo was redesigned in a simpler and more professional style, with the black inscription set in one line on a white background. The “Arts Entertainment” logotype was written in a sophisticated yet bold serif typeface, and the ampersand was set between the words, on the bottom part of the line, drawn in white with a black outline. On the right from the ampersand, there was a “Cable Network” tagline, written in the same font as the main wordmark, but with thinner lines and smaller letters.
The redesign of 1987 introduced the emblem, which became a basis for the one we all can see today. It was a stylized massive “AE” monogram in black with an elegant white ampersand placed over the letters, in the middle of the badge. The difference in thicknesses and shapes of the lines made the logo memorable and recognizable, while the monochrome color palette added timelessness and sophistication.
The shapes of the symbols were refined in 1995, making the letters more stable and square, and the ampersand — bolder and a bit smaller. The concept and color palette remained untouched, so actually, the redesign didn’t affect the recognizability of the brand at all.
The redesign of 2008 kept the concept from 1987, but switched the color palette from monochrome to blue and white, and redrawn the contours of the letters and the white ampersand, making them cleaner and stricter. Now the geometry of the badge is brilliantly balanced and the image looks professional and contemporary.