The archipelago of Saaristo It delimits the entire west coast of Finland and is composed of more than 40,000 islands and islets full of fauna and flora and with unique enclaves. Although its location has made it go unnoticed, it is one of the most diversity natural spaces in the world, as defended by the tourist entity Visit Turku Archipelago after creating a Visual identity For the entire region, with which Saaristo has been working as a tourist destination for months.
Identity seeks to transcend the usual codes of tourist brands
To do this, he resorted to the Finnish Bond Design Studio, from the hand of which he has built a tourist brand platform capable of transmitting everything the archipelago means, resignifying its cultural roots, its people and its species, and Attract tourists in a responsible tourism framework. It is not a recent job. Moreover, it was Shortlist in Cannes Lions 2024, but we have considered it appropriate to share the approach and the way of addressing it in case it could serve as inspiration.
The goal was to visually capture the feeling of being in Saaristo, to Transcend the usual codes of tourist brands And seeking to guarantee a faithful experience to reality and that, in addition, it had a unique identity. In this sense, as explained from the agency, it was distilling the essence of the region in a visual language that was authentic and evocative. Thus, the creative concept “Shaped By Saaristo” (“molded by Saaristo”) was shaped.
All this was tangible in a typography elaborated from the forms of eight islands of the archipelago. Thus, the letters were created by exploring the forms of the land through Google Maps. The result is A logo that renounces a certain readability, but that authenticly reflects the forms of the region.
The rest of the elements of visual identity are also influenced by the natural diversity of the archipelago. The complementary typography responds to a maritime inspiration and colors seek the representation of water and vegetation. Bond interviewed people who reside in Saaristo, studied old maps in the area and historical texts, and toured the most important areas to understand How the archipelago influences on everything around him.
Bond also developed a series of submarks for each of the tourist activities that can be carried out in the area, with unique logos that seek to transmit inspiration. “This approach enriched the general visual identity, providing a touch of joy and spontaneity”, Explains the senior designer of Bond, Kasperi Salovaara.“After all, Saaristo is not only quiet and picturesque, but it can also be fun and interesting”
The project has been enriching over the last months with the creation of a website, as well as An advertising and marketing campaign which exercises as the official launch of the Saaristo brand to the international market.
More info: Saaristo
