Context

BBC Kids was launching in China and needed to adapt its existing visual identity for a new market. The core brand assets — character designs, logo and tone — were already established in the UK, but required thoughtful localisation to feel native to a Chinese audience while remaining recognisably BBC.

Challenge

Translating a brand across cultures is rarely as simple as swapping out language. The challenge was to extend BBC Kids into China without diluting its identity — building out the visual system with new assets, typographic considerations and applications that felt locally relevant, and packaging it all into guidelines that local teams could use confidently and consistently.

Solution

We developed a suite of custom illustration patterns drawn from elements of the existing character designs, giving the brand a richer visual toolkit without departing from its established world. A complementary Chinese typeface was sourced and paired with the original UK font to create a cohesive bilingual system, and the full identity was documented in a set of brand guidelines covering every key application. The result gave local teams a clear, considered framework to roll out BBC Kids across the Chinese market — building on the original brand rather than replacing it.