Finland became an independent state on 6 December 1917. The newly born state was willed into being by the Finns after a long struggle. In spite of hard times, for almost one hundred years, the Finnish people have engaged in the building of their country and making decisions together. Now the Finns are leading their country into a new century with courage and determination.

Finland’s centenary celebration project is run by the secretariat at the Prime Minister’s Office. With the help of a host of participants, a lively programme covering the whole of 2017 was drawn up. The theme of the year was ‘Together’.

Kokoro & Moi was tasked with designing the visual identity for the centennial year. The identity had to communicate and support the overarching theme of doing and being Together.

According to surveys, Finns wished for the anniversary to be celebrated as a joyous and all-inclusive occasion, and this is what we set out to communicate through the visual identity.

The goal was to design an identity that scales and adapts to the needs of different actors and users throughout Finland, striking a chord with everyone regardless of age, gender, place of residence, status and background. Through the visual identity we wanted to lower the threshold for attending and participating in the celebrations, while simultaneously keeping identity modern, inspirational, fresh and forward-looking.

The Finland’s Faces illustration concept became a cornerstone of the visual identity, allowing all the Finns and friends of Finland to join the visual identity creation with their illustrated portraits, executed with different styles and techniques. The faces are a reminder that the celebration of independence comes down to the achievements of individuals.

Through the illustrations we shed light on the Finns of today, and by allowing them to help create the identity, they took ownership of the centennial year. By creating an open, fun and inspirational way to participate in the celebrations, we were able to create an all-inclusive identity that people could make their own.

In designing the identity it was important to consider the large number of users from cities to businesses, amongst a host of other consumers. To avoid licensing issues, we designed custom typography and comprehensive guidelines, enabling the use of visual identity consistently across various media.

The centenary year already had a logo which Kokoro & Moi was only allowed to fine-tune.

Two custom fonts were designed: Finland 100 Groteski, a contemporary Finnish expression of international modernism; and Finland 100 Antiikva, which through its warm design language, merged different stylistic eras into one.

The main colors were nothing less than the the patriotic and fresh blue and white found on the Finnish flag. These were complemented by colors derived from nature, which promote joyous and colorful celebration.

A comprehensive library of Finnish faces was designed for the project. Through a digital application, the whole nation was allowed to customize unique, blue and white illustrated versions of their selfies, and post them across social media or submit them to our collection. The goal was to create visibility for the identity through illustrations created by both official organizations and individuals. Therefore, during the course of the year, the theme of Together began to practically manifest across Finland as the concept was implemented and mobilized.

Kokoro & Moi developed the visual identity concept, communication design, advertising and several other design projects from product to spatial and interactive design.

For the project, Kokoro & Moi teamed up with the marketing communications agency Miltton Creative and the digital development agency Great Apes who was involved in building the Finland’s Faces application.