Colourblocks
Alphablocks Ltd.
Learn about the magic behind colour!
Colourblocks is an exciting pre-school animation show that brings the world of colour to life. Created by the award-winning team behind Numberblocks and Alphablocks, this BBC CBeebies commission uses the proven magic of Blocks to help young children explore colour recognition, mixing, contrasts, and patterns. Each vibrant Colourblock character personifies a colour, transforming black-and-white worlds into wonder-filled explorations sure to delight young viewers.
Developed with expert consultation, Colourblocks offers an unforgettable blend of entertainment and learning. It covers essential preschool topics from basic colours to more advanced concepts like Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow (the Printing Crew). The show's educational excellence and engaging content make it a valuable resource for both parents at home and teachers in the classroom.
Building on the huge success of its predecessors, with over half a billion requests on BBC iPlayer and 5.5 billion views on YouTube, Colourblocks continues the franchise's mission to educate and entertain. Series one, consisting of 30 five-minute episodes, launched on BBC CBeebies and BBC iPlayer on September 12, 2022. Extend the learning experience with the free companion app 'Meet the Colourblocks', which is available for download now.
Developing the look
We brought Colourblocks to life with a unique design approach. Each character is a single shape with a distinct hue, allowing them to morph and mix around a colour wheel to produce new colours and characters. This modular design system enabled us to easily reuse elements and add new characters as the story demanded, while still capturing diverse personalities within these constraints.
The art direction focused on creating a paper-like construction that felt charming and lightweight. We carefully balanced folded elements and overlapping shapes to achieve a tactile feel without overwhelming the characters' personalities. The result is a visually striking show that combines simplicity with depth, bringing the magic of colour theory to life for young audiences while meeting both creative and production needs.
Creating a colourful app
Developing educational and super fun apps is a big part of what we do!
Young children love colouring games and love the Blocks characters... so we wanted to combine a toyetic experience, where children play as the Colourblocks, learning about colour and building up colours to enjoy in a fantastic colouring game - Colourblocks World!
We worked out the learning journey based on the show and in conjunction with colour literacy experts.
Building on the results of user testing with Numberblocks World and Alphablocks World, Colourblocks World allows children to watch the show, sing along to the songs, play games and collect rewards to dress up the Colourblocks.
