Creative brief

Channel 4’s Secret Genius, produced by Mothership TV, blends high-concept game design with entertainment, showcasing everyday contestants revealing hidden brilliance. The series is hosted by Alan Carr and lexicographer Susie Dent, who guide players through a suite of inventive intelligence-based games. The format demanded clarity and personality graphics needed to explain gameplay efficiently while reinforcing the playful, cerebral tone of the show.

Mothership TV approached Little Shadow to design and deliver the title sequence, onscreen graphics, and lower-third astons for this vibrant, gameshow-meets-science-entertainment hybrid.

Our approach

Little Shadow’s team developed a visual system that balanced the dual identity of the show: part warm-hearted entertainment, part puzzle-solving intensity. Working closely with Mothership’s editorial and post teams, we designed a modular suite of graphics that could be easily adapted across different games and formats.

The hero title sequence was designed to echo the ‘hidden genius’ concept—using bold, geometric transitions and layered text reveals to symbolise knowledge surfacing under pressure. We built a consistent graphic language across the show, ensuring that each new game introduction was intuitive and instantly readable, yet visually distinct.

Motion graphics were created in After Effects, with meticulous attention to timing, typography, and layering to support fast-paced edits and clear information hierarchy. Given the variety of game types, we designed a flexible toolkit of animation elements, graphic bars, iconography, and number counters that could scale up or down in visual prominence, depending on the complexity of each challenge.

Onscreen astons and lower thirds were created with character and warmth, matching the energy of Carr and Dent’s delivery without distracting from contestant storytelling. The show’s fast turnaround required a workflow that enabled rapid changes. We built everything to be editable and versionable for later episodes and new series. We also created stills of the games that could be used on the website and across social media.

The results

Delivered many graphical assets, including titles, game explainer graphics, and overlays. The project was turned around on schedule with excellent feedback from Mothership’s post team and broadcast-ready delivery for Channel 4’s prime-time entertainment slot.