Visual identity and wayfinding for Arabia135, the historic factory block for creativity
The Arabia135 block is a 15-hectare complex situated in the Arabia district in Helsinki, owned and developed by Varma, a Finnish pension insurance company. The block originally developed around the Arabia factory, established in the 1870s, producing ceramics and porcelain, which by the 1940s had grown to become the world's largest ceramics factory. Since then, the area has attracted creative industry players and creators.
Today, the factory is gone, and the neighborhood has experienced a new life. The area's industrial history and old buildings combine with diverse activities and new facilities to create a vibrant urban neighborhood center with housing, jobs, and services.
Arabia135 needed a graphic identity and wayfinding system to strengthen the area's identity and to create a unified experience for visitors. Kokoro & Moi was chosen to design the identity. The wayfinding system was created together with the architecture firms (Anttinen Oiva and Verstas) responsible for the architectural development of the block.
The block originally developed around an Arabia ceramics factory, which by the 1940s had grown to become the world's largest ceramics factory.
The area's industrial history and old buildings combine with diverse activities and new facilities to create a vibrant urban neighborhood.
The goal of the graphic identity and wayfinding system was to create a recognizable identity for the Arabia135 block based on its history and its current functions as a center for creative industry companies and education, as well as a neighborhood for design stores.
The historic Arabia sign on the factory building wall inspired the design. The Sul Sans font leans towards the same modern design tradition with its basic geometric shapes. Its design language and proportions create a warm overall atmosphere. In addition to Sul Sans, we designed the bespoke A135 font for the project, consisting of narrow and thin numbers, capital letters, and pictograms, with shapes inspired by the old Arabia sign, but in a narrowed form. The tall and slim letters of the font refer to the new tall buildings to come into the area, and the font is particularly suitable for use in numbers of the wayfinding system (floor numbers, opening hours, stair numbers).
The colors in the graphic identity are based on the area's recognizable materials (ceramics, brick, concrete, glass, steel, stone). The main color is a strong reddish signal color derived from the brick. The Arabia135 pattern consists of equilateral triangles that can be laid side by side and on top of each other, varying the size and arrangement of different-sized triangles. The pattern is visible in both the stone paving used in the area and other visual identity applications.
The bespoke A135 font consists of narrow and thin numbers, capital letters, and pictograms, with shapes inspired by the old Arabia sign, but in a narrowed form.