Rock
Serif
Serif
Rock
Serif
Serif
Rock
Serif
Serif
200px
58px
1.2
0px
Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood
200px
58px
1.1
0px
Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park
200px
58px
1.1
0px
King Kong
King Kong
King Kong
72px
32px
1.3
0px
In the early years of the twentieth century, NBC and Universal began creating their extraordinary legacies in the exciting new worlds of motion picture production and distribution, location-based entertainment, and radio and television production and broadcasting.
In the early years of the twentieth century, NBC and Universal began creating their extraordinary legacies in the exciting new worlds of motion picture production and distribution, location-based entertainment, and radio and television production and broadcasting.
In the early years of the twentieth century, NBC and Universal began creating their extraordinary legacies in the exciting new worlds of motion picture production and distribution, location-based entertainment, and radio and television production and broadcasting.
48px
24px
1.3
0px
NBC made it possible for a national audience to share in a single experience, be it a presidential address or a baseball game. David Sarnoff had envisioned such a service as early as 1915, when, in a memo to his boss at the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America, he proposed a broadcast radio network whereby events of national importance can be simultaneously announced and received, and baseball scores can be transmitted in the air.
NBC made it possible for a national audience to share in a single experience, be it a presidential address or a baseball game. David Sarnoff had envisioned such a service as early as 1915, when, in a memo to his boss at the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America, he proposed a broadcast radio network whereby events of national importance can be simultaneously announced and received, and baseball scores can be transmitted in the air.
NBC made it possible for a national audience to share in a single experience, be it a presidential address or a baseball game. David Sarnoff had envisioned such a service as early as 1915, when, in a memo to his boss at the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America, he proposed a broadcast radio network whereby events of national importance can be simultaneously announced and received, and baseball scores can be transmitted in the air.
22px
32px
1.4
0px
Before television, radio was the dominant medium for entertainment, and the most popular source was NBC, which delivered programming to the nation over two networks, the Red and the Blue (named for the color of the pencils used by NBC’s engineers as they marked the affiliates of the respective networks on a map of the U.S.).
From its beginnings, NBC (and its parent company, RCA) was investing in the development of television. World War II put a halt to this, as the nation’s resources were devoted to the war effort (including Brigadier General David Sarnoff, who served as General Eisenhower’s communications expert).
The 1950s saw television become the dominant medium for entertainment and news. In 1950, just 9% of U.S. households owned a television set. By the end of the decade, the percentage had skyrocketed to almost 90%. In living rooms across America, the radio was relegated to a corner while the TV moved front and center.
Before television, radio was the dominant medium for entertainment, and the most popular source was NBC, which delivered programming to the nation over two networks, the Red and the Blue (named for the color of the pencils used by NBC’s engineers as they marked the affiliates of the respective networks on a map of the U.S.).
From its beginnings, NBC (and its parent company, RCA) was investing in the development of television. World War II put a halt to this, as the nation’s resources were devoted to the war effort (including Brigadier General David Sarnoff, who served as General Eisenhower’s communications expert).
The 1950s saw television become the dominant medium for entertainment and news. In 1950, just 9% of U.S. households owned a television set. By the end of the decade, the percentage had skyrocketed to almost 90%. In living rooms across America, the radio was relegated to a corner while the TV moved front and center.
Before television, radio was the dominant medium for entertainment, and the most popular source was NBC, which delivered programming to the nation over two networks, the Red and the Blue (named for the color of the pencils used by NBC’s engineers as they marked the affiliates of the respective networks on a map of the U.S.).
From its beginnings, NBC (and its parent company, RCA) was investing in the development of television. World War II put a halt to this, as the nation’s resources were devoted to the war effort (including Brigadier General David Sarnoff, who served as General Eisenhower’s communications expert).
The 1950s saw television become the dominant medium for entertainment and news. In 1950, just 9% of U.S. households owned a television set. By the end of the decade, the percentage had skyrocketed to almost 90%. In living rooms across America, the radio was relegated to a corner while the TV moved front and center.
16px
16px
1.4
0px
The decade of the seventies began with a series of sobering blows: the fall of Saigon, Watergate, and President Nixon’s resignation. However, the American public was in no mood to dwell on problems. The painful social issues of the sixties were fodder for the seventies’ laugh track, as in shows such as Sanford and Son.
Under the creative leadership of Brandon Tartikoff, NBC went from last to first, with successful shows such as The Cosby Show, Cheers, and Miami Vice. After NBC was acquired by GE in 1986, new CEO Bob Wright urged the company to embrace the future of cable television, which resulted in the launch of CNBC in 1989.
Today’s media landscape is unlike anything dreamed about just a few years ago. Not only is there an amazing wealth of high-quality content available, but the American public can tune in to just about anything from anywhere, anytime, and on any device. This revolution makes the new century an exciting new age both in content and technology.
The decade of the seventies began with a series of sobering blows: the fall of Saigon, Watergate, and President Nixon’s resignation. However, the American public was in no mood to dwell on problems. The painful social issues of the sixties were fodder for the seventies’ laugh track, as in shows such as Sanford and Son.
Under the creative leadership of Brandon Tartikoff, NBC went from last to first, with successful shows such as The Cosby Show, Cheers, and Miami Vice. After NBC was acquired by GE in 1986, new CEO Bob Wright urged the company to embrace the future of cable television, which resulted in the launch of CNBC in 1989.
Today’s media landscape is unlike anything dreamed about just a few years ago. Not only is there an amazing wealth of high-quality content available, but the American public can tune in to just about anything from anywhere, anytime, and on any device. This revolution makes the new century an exciting new age both in content and technology.
The decade of the seventies began with a series of sobering blows: the fall of Saigon, Watergate, and President Nixon’s resignation. However, the American public was in no mood to dwell on problems. The painful social issues of the sixties were fodder for the seventies’ laugh track, as in shows such as Sanford and Son.
Under the creative leadership of Brandon Tartikoff, NBC went from last to first, with successful shows such as The Cosby Show, Cheers, and Miami Vice. After NBC was acquired by GE in 1986, new CEO Bob Wright urged the company to embrace the future of cable television, which resulted in the launch of CNBC in 1989.
Today’s media landscape is unlike anything dreamed about just a few years ago. Not only is there an amazing wealth of high-quality content available, but the American public can tune in to just about anything from anywhere, anytime, and on any device. This revolution makes the new century an exciting new age both in content and technology.
Rock Serif styles
Regular
Bold
Regular Italic
Bold Italic
Regular
Regular Italic
Bold
Bold Italic
Summary
The bespoke corporate typeface for NBCUniversal is two distinct families — Rock Serif and Rock Sans (short for Rockefeller Plaza, the headquarters of NBCUniversal) — bringing together the typographic history of the two formerly separate companies, NBC and Universal.
While Rock Sans is a versatile typeface with open letterforms and fitting for legibility in longer texts, its mate, Rock Serif, is more expressive and designed for display use. Its triangular serifs and pointed apices are a modern interpretation of the rare Latin typeface genre (also used for the NBCUniversal logo). Nevertheless, because both families share an overall structure and key features — like the curved leg in ‘R’ and ‘k’, the drop-shaped bowl of ‘a’, and its small peaked serif — they complement each other as a confident team.
Credits & details
Design agency
Wolff Olins, New York
Creative direction
Mike Abbink
Design
Mike Abbink, Paul van der Laan, Pieter van Rosmalen
Engineering
Bold Monday