Full set of BBC Weather symbols
I’ve noticed quite a bit of traffic coming to my site searching for ‘Weather Symbols’ so I thought it might be an idea to upload the full set of symbols that I made for the BBC as part of the 2005 relaunch. These are based on the original designs by Mark Allen, who submitted the familiar symbols to the BBC in 1974 while still a student in Norwich, and subsequent revisions by BBC graphic designers over the years.
UPDATE: I’ve changed the little preview of all the BBC symbols, due to increasing numbers of visitors deciding to snoop about and pinch the images for themselves. Tut tut.
The new set of symbols were redrawn in Illustrator and converted to PNG’s for use in Metra’s Weatherscape system which drives the graphics for all of the BBC’s weather graphics, both the realtime 3D forecasts and all of the web content too. The main changes are to the raindrop, the basic cloud outline and the colour of the lightning bolt. I had designed several possible replacement symbol sets as part of the initial pitch, but in the end there was no reason to change the classic icons – other than a couple of cosmetic tweaks.
Visit my ‘TV graphics’ section for the BBC Weather Symbols and more background information about the BBC Weather Graphics
If there’s enough interest, I may upload the complete story behind the 2005 BBC Weather maps – they certainly raised a few eyebrows back in the UK when they first appeared. Here’s a recent example on YouTube with Dan Corbett doing the forecast.
Mike
Oh, and here’s some cool Weather T-shirts on Spreadshirt.co.uk!
