Troika has updated ESPN’s SportsCenter. Probably the most recognizable sports graphics in our industry.

ESPN has such a distinctive look and changing it would be considered blasphemy by some sports fans. I think Troika did a fantastic job updating SportsCenter looks like an incredible amount of work and I believe this is the first HD version of the show, but I don’t have cable so I wouldn’t know.

Watch it here.

Troika Design Group Spearheads ‘Goliath’ Rebrand for ESPN ‘SportsCenter’

Apr 11, 2009

Troika Design Group, a strategic branding and design agency for sports, media and entertainment companies, has teamed up once again with ESPN to rebrand its flagship program, “SportsCenter”. The new identity will debut on April 6, 2009 concurrent with the launch of the highly anticipated “SportsCenter” studio and show in Los Angeles. Based on a design concept called “Goliath,” the new look brings colossal scale to the “SportsCenter” identity.

Said Gilbert Haslam, Creative Director, Troika Design Group, “In 2004, we produced the landmark “SportsCenter” graphics package ‘Revolution’ when the show went into High Definition. Today, as production on “SportsCenter” goes bicoastal and as the show expands to nine hours of original live programming each day, we were brought on board to evolve the original identity. This was a massive assignment that allowed us to stretch our creativity and provided us the opportunity to once again collaborate with the talented team at ESPN.”

“Goliath” delivers a futuristic sports-machine world made up of hundreds of highly detailed elements, all engineered with three tiers of interlocking cylinders used to construct the concentric circle-based turbine environment. In addition to the signature “SportsCenter” open tease, Troika delivered a series of hallmark animations and a toolkit of modular project files and animation elements to ESPN to meet the studio’s ongoing needs and daily production demands.

Troika’s Executive Creative Director Dan Pappalardo, Creative Director Gilbert Haslam, plus Executive Producer Kristen Olsen oversaw a team of 20 over the course of 12 weeks following many months of development. The studio’s primary toolkit consisted of Autodesk Maya, Maxon C4D, Apple Final Cut Pro, and the Adobe Suite, including After Effects, Photoshop and Illustrator. And because multiple 3D software packages were used in production, Autodesk’s FBX file interchange format was utilized to maintain continuity across platforms and for integration into ESPN’s VIZRT system.

About Troika Design Group
Troika is an award-winning design agency known for its memorable visual brand identities, strategic design and creative production for clients in sports, media and entertainment. Based in Hollywood, Troika combines a unique hybrid of skills with a team of more than 25 designers, producers, animators, editors and conceptual thinkers who specialize in network branding, show packaging and promotional and advertising campaigns. The agency was founded in 2001 and is led by industry veterans Dan Pappalardo and Chuck Carey. Troika’s approach to design is innovative, sophisticated, clever and thoughtful, while delivering standout concepts that remain faithful to client brand ideals. The company has worked with top networks, including FOX, ABC, TNT, ESPN, NBC Sports, Golf Channel, FOX Sports, The CW, Starz, truTV, HGTV, E! Entertainment Television, Animal Planet, Food Network, NFL Network and VH1. For more information, please visit www.troika.tv or call Robert Blatchford at 323.965.1650.

Production Credits:
Launch Date: April 6, 2009

Troika Design Group:
Executive Creative Director / Partner: Dan Pappalardo
President / Partner: Chuck Carey
Creative Director: Gilbert Haslam
Executive Producer: Kristen Olsen
Producers: Claudina Mercado, Beth Elder
Designer/Animators: Craig Stouffer, Ming Hsiung, Maziar Majd, Everett Campbell, Nick DiNapoli
Animators: Cory Strassburger, Mark McConnell, Jim McDaniels, Marco Bacich
Design Assistant: Mindy Park

via Dzine.tv