When: January - July 2003

How did we do it?
Funny Garbage’s rich knowledge of cartoon history combined with our mid-century graphic design aesthetic provided a perfect fit with Warner Brothers Animation’s animated series, Teen Titans.

Teen Titans originated as a DC Comics title from the early 80s. In 2003, Warner Brothers Animation, in collaboration with Cartoon Network, developed the property into a Japanese-style anime show that airs weekly on Cartoon Network. At the beginning of every show, the Teen Titans Logo and Open Title Sequence are broadcast to introduce the show and its characters.

Funny Garbage decided to depart from the anime style of the actual show to integrate the historical context of the Teen Titans legacy. The boldness of the logo parallels the brashness of the theme song to emphasize the superhero characters in a new medium. FG introduced each character separately in a color-coded scheme to illustrate the personality and special power of each character. As the sequence progresses, the characters and animation are integrated into the rhythm of the theme song and emphasized with the use of letterbox. The sequence is dominated by the typeface as flat elements and graphic shapes transitionally rotate in and out in order to introduce the backstory and the five different characters.

Many of the textures and graphic elements used in the open title sequence were physically created, scanned and treated in Adobe PhotoShop and Illustrator. Stock footage of animals and outer space were also treated and incorporated.