Høyskolen Kristiania
Høyskolen Kristiania is the result of the merge of four Norwegian schools: Markedshøyskolen, Norges Kreative Høyskole, Norges Helsehøyskole and NKS Nettstudier. Høyskolen Kristiania is in English known as Kristiania University College. The new visual identity for Kristiania University College should strengthen the schools competitiveness and help build a stronger brand.
The identity is based on the concept “Transformation”. Transformation describes the development and progress a person experiences through his or her studies, both on a personal and a professional level. It further describes the school’s holistic focus on the individual rather than education alone. In this way the identity becomes a tool for activating the school’s strategy: “We develop people”. Transformation becomes an image of something that changes without losing its starting point, and it happens continuously in our surroundings.
The development of what is arguably human kind’s most important innovation, the written language, has made it possible to share knowledge across generations. Its transformation throughout history up until today’s Latin alphabet became the foundation for the visual identity and the start of the transformation into a unique written language for Kristiania University College, Kristiansk.
By letting basic shapes create the essence of each letter the school now has its very own “tribal language”. The alphabet balances between typographical forms and graphical patterns. It creates a democratic link between students and employee when everyone has their own kristianske name used on ID cards, t-shirts and business cards. There is also a shared understanding for how the language should be used online, on signage, in catalogs and in other forms of communication.
The identity and concept were so well received by the students that the kristianske alphabet was developed into the identity of the school’s student union. For this, the language was developed to include icons and smileys, so that the student union can communicate in a more tabloid and playful form – still in a langue the whole school feels ownership to.
An interactive and open design manual was developed to convey the dynamic nature of the identity in an intuitive manner. You can test it for yourself (in norwegian only).
The identity’s color scheme is also based on the concept transformation, where the colors are picked from a continuous range from hot to cold.
