Essen International

“Can you make the edges rounder?”

Carl Johan Näs — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:01:23 +0000

Modernist typography is often accused of being cold, inhuman and ineffectual in broad mass communication. That’s wrong. The modernist idea, starting with the Bauhaus movement and followed by the Swiss Style, was all about functionality. Readability and objectivity were accomplished through bold sans serifs composed in rational grid systems. Modernists have always started off with the needs of their users in mind and never let trends replace the communicative goal. Many visual identities launched in the 1960s and 1970s are still vivid and effective today thanks to modernist principles.

Typefaces like Akzidenz and Neue Haas can come across as being a bit harsh and unfriendly, but let’s ask ourselves — is a less sharp typeface more human? Do soft shapes reach out to more people? Would Comic Sans turn the world into a warmer place? No, a sharp simplified typeface treated by professionals can be a true friend – a friend who is solely focused on functionality while at the same time being based upon human behaviour – and honestly, who wants a friend without edges?

When we developed Stockholm Type together with B+P Swiss Typefaces, our ambition was to communicate activity, trustworthiness and accessibility to one million Stockholmers. Did we make the edges rounder? Hell no.

Step Up Your Social Game

Essen International — Tue, 07 May 2013 10:10:40 +0000

In times when individuals, groups and societies spend more and more time on social media platforms, in times when they have moved their conversations from the living room to social media platforms, it gets more and more important for businesses to meet them there.

Read more on how we can get you started with a solid foundation of a best-in-class social media strategy.

One city. One vision. One statement.

Essen International — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 08:11:25 +0000

Stockholm is not only the home of global game changers Niclas Zennström and Daniel Ek, Skype and Spotify, but it is also a global role model in city governance.

In the spring of 2013 Stockholm is taking a giant leap forward by fueling its progress with one strong vision and one clear statement. Stockholm is truly becoming the Capital of Scandinavia.

The updated brand is flexible enough to support the city’s many functions and responsibilities. This branding towards citizens has been simplified with the Patron Saint of Stockholm, St. Erik, as the hero. The system is flexible and sports the custom-made typeface Stockholm Type as the unifying link creating a more coherent and present city.

Stay tuned for more to come.

Portfolio Day for Graduates 2013

Essen International — Fri, 03 May 2013 14:24:39 +0000

We are looking for brave talents to strengthen our design team. Please send your portfolio (PDF or URL) to jobs@esseninternational.com before 10th of May. Subject: Portfolio Day. A selection will be called to Portfolio Day on 17th of May.

Protecting Mr Lincoln

Essen International — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:28:30 +0000

Allan Pinkerton and Edward Rucker formed the North-Western Police Agency in the 1850s. The agency tracked bad boy Jesse James and acted personal guard for Abraham Lincoln during the civil war. The agency became known as the
Pinkerton Agency.

Pinkerton now operates government services and corporate risk management.

We have developed a new brand strategy to support a super premium positioning, increased differentiation towards its owner and a streamlining of its offering.

With great power comes great responsibility

Essen International — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 06:24:27 +0000

Swedbank plays a major role on the financial market. This entails responsibility. As a significant part of the financial circulation system, they help society to develop and grow. At the same time, they work hard for their clients’ accessibility and to find new digital solutions to simplify their clients’ everyday life. We put these two aspects in focus when we developed and executed this year’s Annual General Meeting at Dansens Hus in Stockholm, Sweden.

The big picture

Moa Jager — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 14:27:59 +0000

We are very happy to introduce a good old friend of ours: Scandic. For many years now, we’ve been assisting Scandic on a day-to-day basis with all types of legal matters concerning their brand. As the leading hotel chain in Scandinavia with more than 160 active hotels, Scandic, with its impressive knowledge of the whole of Scandinavia, is one of our most familiar brands.

Since Scandic is working actively with its brand, we are always ready to respond to the new and interesting legal challenges closely connected to their brand development. For example, we work together with Scandic on questions concerning trademark registrations, clearing, guarding and maintenance in Sweden and abroad. We assist Scandic with different types of copyright and design questions and commercial agreements, and we are the helping hand when others come too close and try to take unfair advantage of the Scandic brand.

A strong brand needs to have a well-planned legal strategy if it is really going to make the most of its journey. For us, Scandic is a very proud example of how by integrating the legal issues into the bigger picture of your branding strategy, greater value can be achieved. We are happy to be part of this journey.

New work in progress

Essen International — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 07:19:54 +0000

This Easter is happy indeed. We work on several exciting projects. Just to mention a few: Brand identity for PostNord Logistics, Brand architecture and naming principles for Absolut and Destination Branding for a place almost unbrandable. Next week we are also happy to welcome Derrek, a UX Designer from Canada, and Janna, Designer from Forsbergs.

Happy Easter!

Like a glove

Essen International — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:17:44 +0000

Twilfit takes a great pride in finding the perfect fit for their customers. We have developed functional packaging with clear naming principles to support that. The product plays of course the principal part. The minimalistic set design and natural beauty was shot by photographer Pelle Bergström. Visit your closest Twilfit store to experience the full range.

Is your brand ready for the new gTLDs?

Moa Jager — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 08:48:37 +0000

In the end of this month (March 26th) the first (out of almost 1500) new generic top level domains (gTLDs) will start being released. The new gTLDs are said to revolutionize the way we use the Internet. However, the general buzz also indicates that they will increase the abuse and unauthorized registration of trademarks in domain names, which already is a known concern for many brand owners.

In order to help brand owners protect their rights through this process an administrative function (called Trademark Clearinghouse) has been established in which owners of registered trademarks (word marks only!) can sign up their trademarks. This allows them to register domain names corresponding to their trademarks before they are made available to the public, and to receive notifications when someone else tries to register domain names that include their trademarks. We advise everyone to sign up your most important trademarks in the Trademark Clearinghouse in order to be ready for the approximately 1500 new gTLDs that soon will come to live.

Even if you decide that the Trademark Clearinghouse is not for you it is important to address the situation and to have a clear strategy on how to protect your brand online going forward. In view of the upcoming release of the Trademark Clearinghouse on March 26, why not bring this question up on next week’s agenda?

We will gladly assist you through the Trademark Clearinghouse process and answer all questions you might have as regards these new gTLDs. Please contact our legal team at legal@esseninternational.com or call us at +46 70 184 01 17.