Closer to Truth

The challenge

Closer to Truth is a TV series, airing on PBS, that explores fundamental issues of universe, brain/mind, religion, meaning, and purpose. Host Robert Lawrence Kuhn interviews world-renowned scientists and philosophers searching the vital ideas of existence. It's pretty heady stuff.

Their logo and branding was tired and didn’t convey the brilliance of the show’s content. More importantly, needed a website that did more than act as a brochure. With over 4,000 interviews recorded and thousands of hours of unseen footage, they wanted a way to showcase this amazing library of content online. Site visitors would be able to dive deeper into topics and contributor interviews while making connections that they would never have made by watching the TV series alone.

My role

I was responsible for the creation and overall art direction of the branding system including logo, color system, DVD packaging, collateral system. As well, I was the lead designer on the streaming video website. I played an active role in shaping the information architecture and user experience.

Credits

Agency: Behavior (NYC)
Jeff Piazza, Creative Director
Jenn Coonce, User Experience

Overhauling the brand

The new visual identity for Closer to Truth reflects the program’s inquisitive nature to life’s timeless questions. The circular shape containing the word mark reflects the “C” in “Closer” and draws diverse references from nature ranging from planets in the cosmos to the iris of an eye. The curvilinear twist in the shape references how the show reflects many sides of an issue.

Colors

A system of colors was developed based on the elements found in nature.

Typography

The type system blends the grandiose of academia with the modernity of technology.

Early logo exploratons

Surfacing deep content

The linear nature of the TV show format structures the episodes around just a single topic, with bite-sized interviews from each contributor. But what if you want to explore similar topics? How about other interviews that a contributor spoke on?

We created a model that surfaced deeper content in a more exploratory mode for users who are intrigued by the content but might feel intimated by the topics or contributors. Content on the homepage is grouped in “Mosaics” that leverage the television program’s format, which frames each episode around a question. Different kinds of content are displayed in a web-like structure containing full episodes, subtopics, videos, and contributor interviews together to expose the many facets of a particular theme.

Surfacing deep content

The linear nature of the TV show format structures the episodes around just a single topic, with bite-sized interviews from each contributor. But what if you want to explore similar topics? How about other interviews that a contributor spoke on?

We created a model that surfaced deeper content in a more exploratory mode for users who are intrigued by the content, but might feel intimated by the topics or contributors. Content on the homepage is grouped in “Mosaics” that leverage the television program’s format, which frames each episode around a question. Different kinds of content are displayed in a web-like structure containing full episodes, subtopics, videos and contributor interviews together to expose the many facets of a particular theme.

Immersive video experience

The video detail page allows the user to easily jump between contributor interviews to get different perspectives on the same topic. Users can toggle between short-form and long-form video content as well as build custom playlists. There are always related videos and content available to keep users on the path of exploration.

A platform for education

Closer to Truth contributors are invited to create e-learning courses that utilize a combination of video interviews and written text.