Pentagram bags ‘fictional country’ BBC assignment

Pentagram has been appointed to create the identity for a fictitious country that will see the design group featured in a forthcoming BBC2 series.

Entitled How to Start Your Own Country, the six-part series will chronicle author Danny Wallace’s attempt to set up, populate and run his own country.

During the course of the series, Pentagram will be brought on board by television production company Leafstorm to give the country a visual and brand identity that will aid Wallace in attracting citizens to the ‘nation’.

The consultancy will create a logo, typefaces, colour palette and style guidelines, along with passports, currency designs and a national flag. It may also select a name for the country and has drawn up a shortlist, says Pentagram partner David Hillman.

‘We will treat the project as if it were a normal corporate identity brief,’ says Hillman, adding that it is ‘slightly tongue-in-cheek’.

Series producer Lee Phillips says the programme will allow Pentagram to communicate to the public what the consultancy offers to real clients.

‘Danny wants to get a million citizens and goes to Pentagram to produce an identity that will help achieve this,’ says Phillips.

In the series, Wallace is inspired to start his own country after visiting Celebration, a genuine Disney-branded town in Florida that was created in conjunction with Pentagram’s New York office.

‘The country should represent Danny’s persona,’ adds Phillips. ‘Pentagram will produce three or four ideas and we will film them being pitched to Danny.’

The series will be completed by July 2005 and will broadcast on BBC2 in a 10.00pm slot, although the transmission date is to be decided. Leafstorm will design the programme’s title sequences.