Sweden Turns to Its Flag to Create a Brand New Country Identity
Samantha Shankman, Skift
Skift Take
The simple symbolism of Sweden’s flag matched with a bold color scheme results in a strong new look, especially when compared to its former bleak identity.
The new brand is centered around the Swedish flag and the country’s name in its local language: “Sverige.” A translation of Sverige is then included in smaller font depending on where the brand elements will be seen.
A toolbox of design elements was created to help organizations incorporate the new Sweden brand into their own digital and print materials. The focus of the design pieces is on color (yellow and blue), clean geometric lines, and the flag.
The “official angle maker” is a tool that transformation a location’s distance to Sweden into an abstract angled shape. The shape is unique for each destination, represents its distance to Sweden, and places Sweden in context with the rest of the world.
The design agency created a new typeface “Sweden Sans” that will accompany all branded material. According to the agency’s website, the team “decided to go with the feeling of old signs, of mono, of a classic sans serif with a Scandinavian heritage.” The evolution of the typeface can be seen above.
The distinct typeface “Sweden Sans” is used in a brochure for ‘Swedish Design Goes Milan.’
The distinct typeface “Sweden Sans” is used in a brochure for ‘Swedish Design Goes Milan.’
Sweden’s main website also unveiled a redesign in coordination with the bran release. Click through to see an example of the old website.
The old Sweden.se website was white and grey. It also featured a different logo in the top left corner.
Sweden launched a new country brand this week to combine its various Swedish ministries, agencies, and businesses under a single visual identity.
The new brand is centered around the Swedish flag and the country’s name in Swedish: “Sverige.” A translation of Sverige is included in smaller font and changes depending on where the brand elements will appear.
The country name appears in a new font designed specifically for the rebranding. According to the Swedish newspaper The Local, the new font Sweden Sans was created to add a distinctive element to the more generic symbol of a flag.
