New crown for Melodifestivalen

Melodifestivalen is a Swedish music contest that serves as the vehicle to find the national entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, but is also an enormous event on its own. Since 2002, the event has had a consistent branded look with a dedicated logo. For the next year's contest, that logo will change, as announced this week.

Ahead of the 2002 contest, the organising broadcaster, SVT, contracted Stockholm-based Dallas Motion Agency to create the graphics and look-and-feel of the contest. They came with a symbol where spotlights made up a crown. For the 2011 contest, this symbol was revitalised and the spotlights turned into bunch of splats.

SVT were unsatisfied with how the 2011 worked in print and returned to Dallas who came up with a new concept that retains some recognition. It can be interpreted both as the letter M and a crown. The typeface for the wordmark has previously been used in the contest's graphics.

Sweden's TV12 gets playful

TV12 is a Swedish television channel with a mix of sports, lifestyle and entertainment programming. It launched in March 2014 and little more than a year later it decided to relaunch itself yet again with more focus of sports, comedy and films. This included a new logo and graphics package, developed by Stockholm-based Chimney.

The previous graphics package (covered here at the time) which positioned TV12 as lifestyle channel has been replaced by a decidedly broader look dominated by orange and circles. The graphics are intended to be playful and idents feature "unexpected" juxtapositions.

Linköping University adopts playful and robust logo

Linköping University is one of the larger universities in Sweden with about 27,000 students. Located in the city of Linköping and founded in 1975, it is celebrating its fortieth anniversary this year. Last month, it launched its first ever overhaul of its visual identity, developed with Stockholm-based communication agency Furniture.

Until now, Linköping University has been primarily identified by a seal that has been with the university since its foundation. It will be retained for use in ceremonial functions. But the use of other logos adopted by various departments will be curtailed to present a more monolithic identity.

The new logo is based on the abbreviation LiU with simple and stylised "building block" letterforms that are both playful and robust. The official typeface will be a custom version of Korolev.

Electrolux reveals new logo that highlights classic symbol

Home appliance maker Electrolux unveiled a new visual identity yesterday, January 14. Its development is credited to brand design agency Prophet.

The new logo keeps the iconic Electrolux symbol, designed by Swiss designer Carlo Vivarelli and introduced in 1962. Back then, it also included a serif logo-type which has been with the brand with minor updates for fifty years. Now, it is being replaced by a simpler type treatment. The company says the simplified typography puts greater emphasis on the classic symbol, which is left virtually unchanged.

Founded in Stockholm, Sweden where it is still head-quartered, Electrolux products are now sold worldwide. The incremental roll-out of the new logo started yesterday.

Mariestads taps into its heritage

Mariestads is one of Sweden's oldest beer brands, dating back to a brewery founded in 1848. Earlier this year, it adopted new packaging and an updated identity, designed by Swedish agency Neumeister with custom logo typography by Rob Clarke.

All aspects of the brand were designed to highlight the heritage and history of this premium beer brand.

Viaplay makes everyone happy

Viaplay is a subscription video on-demand service in the Nordic countries. Operating on a model similar to Netflix, it offers a library of movies and series from several well-known providers. Last week, it introduced a new visual identity along with a new ad concept.

The new identity is launched with the tagline "Everyone Happy". It is friendlier than its predecessor, reflecting Viaplay's extended family offerings and the fact that streaming video has become increasingly mainstream. The basic icon is kept to mark the origin of the service, while colours and typography are updated to "reflect a new era of digital entertainment with availability, playfulness and warmth".

New logo pulled together for MTG

Modern Times Group, or MTG, is a media company in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, mainly concerned with broadcasting, including the Viasat platform and TV3 channels in Scandinavia and the Baltics. As MTG prepares to become a more visible as a brand, it revealed a new company logo on September 30. The logo was designed by Swedish agency BVD, while London-based Radley Yeldar worked on the brand platform.

The previous logo had been used since the company was formed in 1995. The new one should reportedly convey clarity, self confidence and a twinkle in the eye (which the slanted G represents).

Update October 16: BVD have now published their case study for this project, more images added at the bottom of this post.

Fresh berries for BOB jams

BOB is a classic Swedish brand for jams, marmalades and drinks that was first introduced in 1948. It has recently started introducing new packaging and a new logo, created by Stockholm-based design agency Silver.

The previous red circle logo was given two green leaves to make it look like a berry. It maintains BOB's heritage by keeping the red colour and the round shape.

Volvo rolls out simplified logo

Everyone knows of Volvo, right? One of Sweden's most famous brands, known for safe quality cars. Some decades ago, the car making part of Volvo was sold off and is now in the hands of a Chinese company. This week, August 27, Volvo Cars introduced an updated version of its logo. It was created by Stockholm Design Lab who name Trollbäck + Company as a project partner.

The new version of the "ironmark" – as the mark is called – has been simplified to its purest form with an uninterrupted iron symbol, optimised for all environments. The simple form is said to embody Volvo's brand vision; "to be the world's most progressive and desirable car brand". It was introduced to celebrate a new line of cars. The first model in the line is called XC90 as will also be the first to feature the updated logo.

Landshypotek Bank flies back to the country

Landshypotek Bank is a Swedish cooperative building society, founded in 1836 and owned by its members. Last year it transformed itself into a bank in February this year it launched a new visual identity, created by design agency Stockholm Design Lab.

The old wheat spike symbol was discarded and replaced by a silhouette of a tiny boy on a flying goose, taken from the classic Swedish novel The Wonderful Adventures of Nils about a rude boy who gets shrunk and flies across the country. It brings connotations to farming and the Swedish countryside. The colour scheme is inspired by nature and the imagery makes further references to the countryside.

Tradera trades new look

Tradera is Sweden's leading online auction site working on model similar to eBay. Since 2006, they have been a wholly owned subsidiary of eBay, but have retained an independent identity which was further developed earlier this year when a new look was introduced. It was created by Stockholm-based Bold.

Boild worked both on a new brand platform and on interface design. They deemed the old layout and logo cluttered and outdated. A new script logo was developed to stay emotive and relevant. The yellow signature colour was enhanced and become more visible. As part of the interface design, Bold also developed a cohesive set of new icons and other elements.

Stockholm continues to capitalise on Scandinavia

For the last few years, Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, has boldly marketed itself as the "Capital of Scandinavia". This has probably been seen as unnecessarily arrogant and brash to those living in other Scandinavian capitals, like Copenhagen and Oslo. But Stockholm are sticking to it and last year they introduced a refreshed version of this branding, created by Essen International.

That agency was also involved in branding the city of Stockholm (Stockholms stad) last year. To clarify, the Stockholms stad project mostly concerned communication from the city of Stockholm to its inhabitants. The "Capital of Scandinavia" branding targets business and tourists from around the world and concerns all the 52 municipalities that make up Sweden's capital region.

Essen's branding unites the branding for the city and the region with a common visual expression with similar colours and typefaces. It is built around the already established crown symbol and designed to work in a digital environment.

Fresh identity for Swedish lifestyle channel TV12

TV12 is a new Swedish television channel dedicated to sports and lifestyle programmes for a general audience. It is owned by the TV4 Group and launched on March 29, replacing an all sports channel. Its brand identity was developed by Black Peacock and adapted for broadcast graphics by Broken Doll. Both agencies are based in Stockholm.

Although billed as a sports and lifestyle channel, the emphasis is on the lifestyle content. The intention was to create a fresh and elegant identity that stands out this. This is achieved by using bright "natural" gradients superimposed on people engaged in sports and everyday activities.

OBH Nordica designs better logo

OBH Nordica is a Nordic manufacturer of household appliances and utensils, formed in 2002 from the merger of a Swedish and a Danish company. Last month, the company introduced a new visual identity and package concept. It ws created by Stockholm-based design agency Silver.

New identity for Swedish sports retailer Team Sportia

Team Sportia is a Swedish sports equipment retailer with about 120 stores. This year it celebrates its 25th anniversary by launching a new visual identity that it hopes will allow it to regain lost market shares. The design work was done by Happy F&B in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The chain consists of independent stores with different orientations, which the new communication concept promotes by aiding the local commitment to help costumers find what they want.

Kanal 9 launches uncomplicated rebrand

Kanal 9 is a Swedish television channel, launched as an offshoot from Kanal 5, one of the country's leading commercial broadcasters. This week, on February 3, Kanal 9 was relaunched with a new logo and new graphics. It will now focus more on younger male viewers by providing what it calls "uncomplicated entertainment", which means sports, serials and motoring shows such as Top Gear.

The new logo is credited to Ohlsonsmith, the graphics package was developed by Dallas Sthlm and the music was composed by Sergeant Tom. All three are based in Stockholm, Sweden. Contrasting the irregular roundness of the logo, the graphics package is largely built on diagonal lines and squares.

Caring growth identity for Aleris

Aleris is a private healtcare provider in Sweden with about 7,500 employees working in healthcare, elderly care and mental health. This week it has launched a new corporate identity aimed at raising awareness of the company. It was developed by brand design agency Bold in Stockholm.

The new mark was inspired by the growth rings of a tree, a symbol for how Aleris provides healthcare for all stages of life. An extensive set of pictograms and numerals have been developed in the same style as the logo. The turquoise logo is supported by a limited range of mostly blue hues.

New logo: Sweden

Sweden is a country in northern Europe, known for ABBA, IKEA, meatballs and equality. This week, the country got a new official website which also displays a new visual identity. The new look was created by Stockholm-based design agency Söderhavet on the behalf of several government agencies.

The new minimalist identity is centred around the Swedish flag, which was identified as the most recognised and lasting symbol of the country. It is accompanied by a wordmark that spells out the Swedish name for Sweden, Sverige, is a custom-made typeface called Sweden Sans. When used outside Sweden, the local name for the country is shown above Sverige. The English version can be seen above.

New logo: Kanal 11

Kanal 11 is a Swedish television channel. Formerly known as TV11, it was acquired to Discovery Communications last spring. On October 1, it was relaunched under a new name to align it with the company's other Swedish entertainment channels, Kanal 5 and Kanal 9. It is now positioned as an entertainment channel for young women.

The new logo and on-air identity were designed by Swedish broadcast design agency Dallas Sthlm.

New logo: Frödinge

Frödinge is a Swedish company that makes cakes and desserts, some of which are sold in other European countries like Germany. This week it has introduced a new logo, meant communicate its roots in the province of Småland, tradition and the feeling of a pastry bakery. It was created by Silver in Stockholm.