Loihde
A colorful visual identity for an event where the future and technology meet in a phenomenal way.
Loihde Ateljee was an event concept born out of the idea to create a meeting point for different people, companies, expertise, as well as to bring new perspectives and ideas about what could become common everyday in the future.
For a limited amount of time, the event offered the opportunity to explore what happens when technology interacts with us in unexpected new ways during normal everyday situations. Six locations in the centre of Helsinki were chosen to offer this opportunity and prototype a piece of the future in each one. Visiting a hairdresser, eating in a restaurant, staying in a hotel were among the mundane activities that were selected for the program.
To bring everything together, a mobile app guided visitors from venue to venue, serving as the main device to unlock and experience each installation featured in each location.
The aim was to showcase the possibilities of new technologies in a way that is more approachable, lowering the barriers to talk about how the future might “feel” like to the public. The event was made possible by Loihde Factor, in cooperation with several other partners.
As a tangible example of a foresight-driven design, we are proud to have been working with Loihde on the visual identity and visitor experience concept.
Approach
Technology can be like a foreign language for many of us. To showcase the possibilities of new technologies in a way that is more approachable and mundane than what people assume, the visual identity focused on using bold colours and shapes, inspired by the art and crafts, making the future something that each one of us can play with and explore with curiosity.
Unlock your future became the key message, and the A of Ateljee turned into a visual clue, a “smart key”, that marked places in the city where the visitor could find and tap into each future experience through the use of the Ateljee app. To make the installations easy to find, each location adopted a specific colour that was used to associate it with the event, creating a palette of experiences that people could choose from. From this came the inspiration of developing the visual identity of the entire event around the application of paint brushes that mark the venues temporarily as the technology that is featured in each installation.
Several partners were involved in developing the event, including Stereoscope, Piotar Boa, Neubit and Yle. Working together as one team we made sure the visual identity and visitor experience were implemented coherently from venue to venue until the event launch.
Results
The result is a bold and colourful identity for an event about future and technology that looks different, more creative and fun. The various elements, including logo, colours, typography, and key visuals were applied to all touchpoints, from website to mobile app, from signage to spatial branding.
The core of the visitor experience developed around the use of the mobile app; implemented by Loihde Factor, it presented the program of the event and allowed the users to scan the A of Ateljee starting the installation.
Indeed, the A of Ateljee acted as QR code, that could be scanned through the app and activated the technology used to produce the installations. The A was made into small stickers that were placed next to each installation. After scanning the QR code, the user followed the instructions on the app to continue to the experience from their device, after which they could leave feedback and post on social media using the hashtag #loihdeateljee.
As an event that aimed at raising the discussion about future and technology, the identity continued living on the social media, as the key elements were also used to style social media posts on Instagram and Facebook.
