Branding
Cinemax's original 1980 logo featured the channel's name with first letter in mixed case letters in Avant Garde typeface on a semi-circular rectangle; the "Coming Up Next" bumpers and graphics were similar to parent network HBO's graphics of the concurring time. In 1985, the channel adopted a new logo rendered in lowercase italicized Universe Condensed type with each letter on a slanted square sized to fit each letter. Variants of the logo used different coloring, and updated "Coming Up Next" bumpers between 1985 and 1997; this logo was used in print ads and during bumpers for a short time while the original 1980 opening bumpers were used, before a new feature presentation opener was added in the fall of 1985. In 1997, the network rebranded and implemented a logo rendered in lowercase Impact type with a circle placed behind the 'max' (as with Showtime's highlighting of 'SHO' in their logo, the use of 'MAX' as the logo focal point comes from the channel's former TV Guide abbreviation in the magazine's local listings era). Slight modifications of the logo's coloring were made during this period; the logo was often shown with just the circle 'max'.
In February 2008, a new sparse and bare branding campaign was introduced, with voiceovers for movie promotions and ratings bumpers fully withdrawn from all Cinemax networks. The promotions featured Adult Swim-style introductions with white text on black screens, while 'up next' screens just featured the film name and stars with only sound effects and small snippets of music playing instead of full interstitial music. All channel logos were redesigned -- and most notably, the main Cinemax channel became visually referred to as simply "max", though in some ads, cast members from the network's "After Dark" series continued to refer the network vocally as Cinemax, and ads promoting Cinemax outside the channel continued to use the original 1997 logo design (though a variant without the circle behind the 'max' was used from 2010 to 2011).
In August 2011, Cinemax introduced a new logo in line with promotional efforts for Strike Back, with a diagonal-cut yellow line with uppercase black "CINEMAX" lettering; only the "MAX" portion is used for Cinemax on Demand and Max Go (for both services, a tilted black box is added next to the yellow/black "MAX" to fit either "OD" or "GO"), along with the linear multiplex channels (for the multiplex channels, the prefix titles for each channel are added before it with no line treatment). It was originally unveiled in on-air promos for its upcoming original programming, on its Facebook and Twitter accounts and on its YouTube channel in May 2011. The official and Max Go websites continued to use the 2008 version of the 1997 logo until August 11, 2011, when the two sites got an extensive redesign. Despite the rebrand, Cinemax's multiplex channels (with the exception of the main channel and MoreMax, which do not use any on-screen watermarking whatsoever) confusingly continue to feature logo bugs using the 1997-era logo during films and other programs.
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