would eventually find yourself at the South of the world, lies the Nordkyn
peninsula. Home to two municipalities < Gamvik and Lebesby < in the county
of Finnmark, Norway. Nordkyn is cold. Arctic cold. It is also scenic. Dreamy
scenic. Perfect for a Coen brothers movie. The two municipalities have come
together to promote tourism to the peninsula and worked with Oslo-based Neue
Design Studio <http://www.neue.no> to create an identity that, literally,
reflects the nature of this destination: Visit Nordkyn
<http://www.visitnordkyn.com/> .
> The visual identity is based on two main ingredients; our newly developed
> payoff, "Where nature rules," and weather statistics from the Norwegian
> Meteorological Institute. A feed of weather statistics affects the logo to
> change when the direction of the wind or the temperature changes. On the
> website, the logo updates every five minutes. We developed a logo generator
> where Visit Nordkyn can download their logo to the exact weather conditions of
> that particular moment. Nordkyn is truly a place where nature rules, even over
> the visual identity.
> Neue Project Description
It may be just be the Candy Store Color Overdose Effect that has me
hypnotized, but I really like this identity. It's contemporary, avant garde,
and chillingly simple in a way that can only be pulled off convincingly by a
Nordic design firm and client. That may sound like a weird categorization of
work, but work coming out of that region has these really amazing qualities.
The icon itself is deceivingly simple, with a single point that stretches in
the direction the wind blows, giving it the appearance of extensive
flexibility that, when paired with the muted rainbow of colors, makes it
feel infinitely mutable. The typography goes almost unnoticed but provides
just enough personality to make the logo feel scientific and official.
This is not Miami, Rome, Fiji, or any other city that needs a watered down
identity to appeal to the masses. The Nordkyn peninsula is probably not for
everybody and I doubt that the tourism effort is meant to attract the
Disneyland tourists so I have no problem with this identity being awkward
and even uninviting in the sense that we consider destination identities
should be inviting. It helps establish the mystique and peculiarity of the
place.
Lastly, for those who will want to point this out: Yes, it does feel
reminiscent of Stefan Sagmeister's flexible identity for Casa da Música in
Portugal
<http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/the_17_sides_of_a_cultu
ral_ide.php> . And, no, this doesn't look like a rip-off.
