For the Blockbuster’s new brand for the 21st century, I wanted it to include parts of its original brand; however, I had to take into consideration who my target audience was. Blockbuster’s reimagined brand focuses on its past customers, but also aims to target a younger audience. For Blockbuster’s brand, I focused on implementing the core values, community, curation, together, nostalgia, and auterism, in all creative aspects. 

 

As I approached this whole project, it was important that I understood the history and research behind video store culture and Blockbuster before expanding on my ideas. For the brand guide, I began with a history of the Blockbuster franchise. As nostalgia is one of the core values I wanted to implement in the brand, I know that it is important to continue on the long history and impact Blockbuster has on American culture. 

 

Blockbuster’s original logo was a dark blue movie ticket with the name in bold letters in gold. I decided to update the logo while keeping some of the same aspects to retain past customers, but also attract new ones. Instead of keeping the movie ticket as a part of the logo, I instead decided to use a different visual identifier to signify Blockbuster’s impact on movie culture. For the updated logo, I added in the film strip “s,” with Blockbuster’s name still in bold letters. I also updated the colors to a bright yellow and electric blue in order to reflect the retro aesthetic that past Blockbuster portrayed, implementing it into its present rebrand. 

 

The colors also got an upgrade. Blockbuster stores were typically very bright and stimulating, I knew the colors of the brand had to reflect this environment. Instead of the dark blue and gold, I refreshed these core colors of the Blockbuster brand to a bright yellow and electric blue. Orange is implemented when needed and navy blue is primarily used for text. The accent colors are not overbearing, as they are lighter variations of the bright blue, yellow, and orange. As the brand is expressing the excitement and vibrancy of the community space and the media industry, only contrasting color combinations are acceptable. This means that no accent colors are to be combined or matching accents with bright colors.

 

The font was also refreshed. Blockbuster is popularly recognized through its bold and all capital font, it was crucial that I kept this creative choice while updating it. As for subtext and body text, I decided to make it simple and clear. The Blockbuster logo and name is to be central to the brand identity, so any other text must not over power it.

 

The target audience is both old customers of Blockbuster and those who may not have experienced the space, but understand and love its popular culture significance. The moods boards I created helped my creative process immensely. I chose images that are closely aligned with the original brand of Blockbuster. I then created two mood boards based off of what my vision was for Blockbuster’s refreshed brand. It was through these mood boards I expressed the nostalgia that I want to instill in the Blockbuster brand for the 21st century. Through VHS tapes, neon lights, and vintage images, Blockbuster allows for past fanatics to transport themselves back in time, while these aesthetic aspects allow for new lovers of the brand to experience a period in time that they never got the chance to be part of.