Joseph Kiely

Art Direction + Graphic Design

CW Crime Nation Opening Titles: Pitch Design

Project Goals

For its new true crime docuseries Crime Nation, The CW wanted a gritty, documentary-inspired open that immersed viewers in the crime itself.

Client:

Agency:

The CW Logo
Defiant Logo
CW Crime Nation opening titles design

Case File

A tactile, analog-inspired direction built from cutout photos, fingerprints, mugshots, and overlapping type. Designed to feel raw and layered — like digging through a real crime file. The imperfect, hands-on aesthetic puts the viewer in the role of investigator from the first frame.

CW Crime Nation Opening Titles Design

Crime Scene

A digital, forensic look using scanlines, grid overlays, and zoomed-in imagery. Clean, tech-driven, and laser-focused on suspects, evidence, and surveillance details. Where Case File feels human and intuitive, Crime Scene is cold, precise, and methodical.

Each concept offered a distinct take on modern true crime — one rooted in hands-on investigation, the other in data-driven analysis.

CW Crime Nation Opening Titles Design
CW Crime Nation Opening Titles Design