GBH Kids

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


WGBH Kids

1st Logo (2009-2017)

Nicknames: "Friends from Boston", "The Blue Flash", "WGBH Outline", "The PBS Kids Logo", "WGBH's Friends"

Logo: Same as the 2008 WGBH logo, except it is tinted blue like the local variant, and when the WGBH logo is formed, semi-animated pictures of PBS Kids characters such as Curious George, Arthur and Buster, Leona (from Between the Lions), Ruff Ruffman (from Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman), Martha the dog (from Martha Speaks), and the Design Squad logo popping up as "kids" appears under the glowing WGBH logo.

Variants:

  • On Peep and the Big Wide World, Curious George is seen hanging from above instead of standing, and Peep, Chirp, and Quack appear at the bottom left right next to Martha, and the logo is rendered in 60fps and also in motion-blur. Post-2012 episodes of Postcards from Buster also use this variant.

FX/SFX: The WGBH logo forming, with "kids" appearing along with the characters and the character animations.

Music/Sounds: The short version of the WGBH music followed by the sound of laughing children, or the ending of the show's theme.

Availability: Seen on PBS Kids programs produced by WGBH from early 2009 to 2017, such as Arthur, Martha Speaks, Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman, among others.

2nd Logo (May 29, 2017-November 2021)

Nicknames: "WGBH Outline II"

Logo: The logo begins on a ruffled white background that resembles crumpled paper. Surrounding the borders of the logo are colored pencil scribbles consisting of the colors grey, green, blue, yellow, and orange. Also in the background is the orange word "Kids" which is scrambled around the screen. A folded paper cube rolls in from the right-center of the screen and stops in the center. The cube unfolds to reveal the WGBH logo which is solid and colored blue. The screen zooms out as the "Kids" text bounces towards the bottom right of the WGBH logo and settles. The cube continues to unfold turning the background into a white paper background. A yellow "firework" in the shape of an asterisk explodes on the top right of the logo. Another purple asterisk firework explodes in the bottom right. The "Kids" text wiggles around throughout the logo. After the fireworks explode, the logo stops zooming out and freezes before fading to black.

FX/SFX: The cube rolling in and unfolding, the word "Kids" jumping into its place, and the "fireworks." Simple computer animation, but still creative.

Music/Sounds: The tail end of the WGBH music accompanied by a playful techno rendition of the music with a beat in the background, or the ending theme of the show.

Availability: Common. First seen on 2017 episodes of Arthur and used on WGBH Kids programs from the period, such as Pinkalicious & Peterrific and Molly of Denali. This even plasters over previous WGBH logos on newer prints of Peep and the Big Wide World.

GBH Kids

3rd Logo (November 2021-)

Nicknames: "Clay GBH" "Clay animals"

Logo: On a purple background we see a group of animals seemingly made of clay with features drawn in by 2D animation. The animals include a light blue bird, a yellow giraffe-like creature, a light blue bird, a darker blue creature resembling a caterpillar, a green frog and an abstract red creature shaped similarly to a boat. All of these creatures converge and combine into the shape of the new GBH logo. The word "Kids" fades in in a sans-serif font and the clay shapes fade into the standard purple GBH logo.

FX/SFX: The creatures animating in and becoming the GBH logo, appears to be claymation augmented with 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: The available video of this logo has the end theme of the show playing over it. It's currently unknown if this logo will have its own audio

Availability: Current. This logo was first spotted on season 4 of Molly of Denali and will likely be used on all GBH Kids shows moving forward

Cookies help us deliver our services. By using our services, you agree to our use of cookies.