Realise Digital has redesigned the website for Channel 4’s flagship teen drama, Skins. The website – http://www.e4.com/skins/ – which launched in December in advance of the premiere on 27th January 2011, features a brand new design that reflects the darker tone of the forthcoming series.

Skins is one of Channel 4’s most successful shows, with the series 4 premiere pulling in over 1.5 million viewers on E4 and E4+1. Every other season, Channel 4 overhauls the entire Skins cast to keep the show fresh. This season, it commissioned Realise Digital to create a new design for the site to reflect these cast changes and the new direction of the programme.

Aimed at a young, teenage audience, Skins has an intensely loyal fan base that is constantly staying up-to-date with the show’s latest developments through the site, as well as through the official Facebook page and Twitter accounts.

Don Smith, Creative Director at Realise Digital said: “We know that Skins has a large, loyal group of fans that in a sense have a degree of ownership over the brand. And rolling out a radical new look and feel for the new series was always going to be a risk. The reaction from fans has been incredibly positive with numerous discussions about the design and what it means for the new series on Twitter, Facebook and other forums.”

Thom Gulseven, E4.com Producer at Channel 4 said: “The Skins site acts as a central hub for fans of the show. Keeping it fresh and engaging is important for us, especially when introducing a brand new cast. Allowing fans to visually draw distinctions between old and new characters is a key part of getting to know the new gang before the season even starts. Realise Digital worked to some very tight timescales to get the new design live and it’s already proving to be a great way to build up excitement around the show ahead of the premiere.”