Revenge of the Black Best Friend

RBBF is a series nominated for 9 Canadian Screen Awards streaming on CBC Gem, created by Amanda Parris that follows Dr. Toni Shakur, a self-help guru whose singular mission is to cancel the entertainment industry’s reliance on token Black characters… before she gets canceled herself.

The Mandate

Working as Six Cinquième production’s lead designer, the team and I was mandated to visually set the tone of the show, “Revenge of the Black Best Friend” with the creation of a visual identity and key artwork that communicate its comedic and surreal nature.

The Approach

The approach was to create a brand that reflects the show’s art direction. We designed a logotype that conveys revenge with its bold, sharp font, which we transformed further by stretching out the letters for a more impactful and playful feel. Each episode also has a special version of the logo, transformed to hint at certain references or themes that are covered.

For the poster design, we created a minimal yet eye-catching lead image. We wanted to create intrigue and mirror the hyperrealism found in the show by exaggerating Toni’s afro. We also made sure to get a shot of Toni, played by Olunike Adeliyi, holding her phone closely with an ambiguous, cheeky expression on her face to subtly hint at the main character’s personality and fate.