Nova Sea – A visual identity for a salmon producer

Nova Sea’s visual identity is inspired by the nature along the coastline of Helgeland. Photo: Virtual Garden

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Nova Sea’s visual identity is inspired by the nature along the coastline of Helgeland. Photo: Virtual Garden

Nova Sea’s visual identity is inspired by the nature along the coastline of Helgeland. Photo: Virtual Garden

Nova Sea’s visual identity is inspired by the nature along the coastline of Helgeland. Photo: Virtual Garden

Nova Sea’s visual identity on print. Photo: Virtual Garden

 

With 15 aquaculture facilities along the coastline of Helgeland, it was only natural for Nova Sea that its visual identity should reflect the local environment and the company’s links with nature, as well as its new vision of “searching for the perfect balance”.

The company’s point of departure
Nova Sea AS is the largest northern Norwegian producer of farmed salmon, with 15 aquaculture facilities on the coast of Helgeland. The company’s administration and industrial facility is located on the island of Lovund in the municipality of Lurøy, where farmed salmon is gutted and processed before being distributed to domestic and international markets. The group has around 170 employees and an annual turnover of approximately NOK 700 million, making the company one of the largest businesses on the coast of Helgeland.

How did the project get started?
In recent years, several companies have been merged with Nova Sea. The company’s management consequently felt it was important to unite the entire company by introducing a new and common visual identity. A common visual identity was important both within the organisation and in respect of the company’s contacts, as part of the process of developing a separate sales organisation for the export market.

It was the company’s wish that its visual identity should create a sense of belonging and internal pride, and that it should have a positive effect on the recruitment of new labour and also present Nova Sea as a professional player, both locally and in a tough international industry.

In collaboration with the Norwegian Design Council, Nova Sea had drawn up a project description, and received recommendations for three design agencies. Each of these agencies presented their work, and Virtual Garden Design was chosen for the assignment. The description of the assignment formed the basis for the strategic process jointly undertaken by Nova Sea and Virtual Garden Design. The design brief was produced following workshops with and on the premises of the commissioning party in which discussions were held concerning project objectives, values, personality, impressions made, and, not least, a clear vision.

The parties involved
The strategic process involved representatives for the management, owners and employees of Nova Sea. Virtual Garden Design’s team, consisting of an adviser, designer and copywriter, provided expertise regarding names and the formulation of a vision. Once the overarching visual concept had been approved, the designer and project manager took over responsibility for the process in collaboration with Nova Sea’s project manager.

Conceptualisation
Visits to various facilities gave the design agency first-hand experience of everything that happens in and around the fish-farm cages. Nature and life above and below the surface of the sea are closely affiliated. The fish-farming facilities were surrounded by islands displaying different mountain formations. The palette was inspired by colours found in nature along the Helgeland coast – mountains, snow, sea, houses, sun, rain, beaches and fields.
The company’s vision of “searching for the perfect balance” and the striking landscape – wild and wonderful – formed the starting-point for the visual concept. Geometric shapes form an iconic Nova Sea universe – inspired by the landscape along the Helgeland coast.

The solution
The company’s new visual identity reflects the unique landscape of the coast of Helgeland, and can be related to the company’s areas of activity several places along the coast. The graphic design language shows the mountain formations on the islands on which Nova Sea’s facilities are located. The employees are very familiar with the landscape reproduced in the profile, and this creates a sense of belonging both to the visual identity and to the company.

“Our new visual identity has made us far more conscious of how we use our logo and our visual profile, both in-house and in our dealings with our customers,” says Nova Sea’s Torleif Olaisen, who feels the company’s objectives and its hopes for the design project were achieved.

Learning and cooperation
“During the process we enjoyed very good cooperation and there were few communication problems, despite the considerable distance between Lovund and Oslo,” says Gørill Kvamme Nygaard, general manager at Virtual Garden Design.

The design agency also found that the company’s desired lasting impression - “We want to buy fish from these people” - can also be transferred to the collaboration on developing a visual identity – “We want to cooperate with these people!”

“We learned how extremely important it was to do one’s homework in the preliminary stages of such a project. Good preparation ensures good results,” says Torleif Olaisen.
Throughout the process, it was important for Nova Sea to root the project in its own stated values. The company does not wish to present itself as something it is not, or cannot stand for, and this must also be reflected in the company’s visual identity.

“The task of creating a visual profile also turned out to be more comprehensive and extensive than one could have envisaged. The process was good for the Nova Sea organisation, because it touched on so many areas, and highlighted and concretised thoughts about a number of areas that would otherwise not have been discussed," says Mr Olaisen.