The BRIT Awards in 2011 will have a new visual identity, and a new trophy, both designed by Manchester-based agency Music.

Music were commissioned by the board of BRIT Awards Limited, the arm of BPI that runs the BRIT Awards, whose chair David Joseph was appointed in March of this year.

Music’s new identity for the awards is based around the redesigned trophy. A streamlined, white version of the classic Britannia statuette, the trophy’s outline forms the centre of a ‘B’ to create the ceremony’s logo.

The 2011 Awards, which will take place at London’s O2 Arena, will have trophies customised by the British designer Dame Vivienne Westwood – whose own brand has long drawn inspiration from symbols of British nationhood, such as the Union Jack. Music envisage that each year a prominent British figure will be invited to reimagine the trophy’s visual identity.

Craig Oldham of Music said that the new identity was inspired by the clients wanting to make the image of the awards more serious, in line with the array of creativity being celebrated and the fact that the BRIT Awards announce the best of the British music industry to the world.

However, although the new logo is in use by the Twitter account of the BRIT Awards 2011, the website remains branded with the 2010 identity and images of the old trophy. The new website, complete with full identity by Music, will be rolled out at some point prior to the Awards taking place in February.