To be quite honest, MSNBC hit this one out of the park.

While I don't get HD, so I can't experience the full on beauty of their new designs, I am nonetheless in awe of what work they have done here. Bright white tones used largely during the day, Morning Meeting utilizing natural shades of brown and green for elements, making a very modern feeling show from the same set they've been using for a year or two now. Regular rolling coverage has a nice feel, utilizing intros which are simple, in essence the flip of a card, to go from ads to live and live to ads.

The music used by the network is simply stunning as well, bringing together something completely different from the typical sounds elsewhere, going a little more electrical and a little less rock and roll. For that matter, so many of the transitions on the network, between shots and items displaying on the screen, are stunning as well. It's all coordinated amazingly and I honestly want to work on clipping down a video of a lot of these pieces.

Overall, MSNBC hit this out of the ball park in my mind. While going for the modern feel seen elsewhere, they did so in many unique ways: Going brighter with colors, simple boxes, a top bar for the show ID/network logo/LIVE/Time, showing the markets but with live graphics, and so much more. If you get a chance, drop by MSNBC and watch for a little while. In many respects, it's branding done right!