Hydro's centennial identifiers - which feature the figure 100 in a dozen variations - captured the gold medal in the prestigious international "Creativity Design Awards". Hydro's corporate brochure and annual report, as well as other profiling centennial elements, also received awards.
A series of Hydro's branding products for the centennial year 2005 were nominated for the competition by the London-based brand consultancy Karakter, who specialise in corporate profiling.
Karakter, hired by Hydro to supply graphic design elements in connection with the centennial year, worked closely with Hydro on the production of the following prize-winning elements - the 12 centennial identifiers, calendar and presentation for use at local centennial events, as well as the company's annual report for 2004 and the corporate brochure for 2005.
| IDENTIFIERS: These 12 'centennial identifiers' are used by Hydro in connection with the company's 100 years celebration. |
Design agencies in more than 30 countries submitted many thousands entries for evaluation within various categories of corporate profiling. The ranking is done by the publisher of the Creativity Annual, in which the world's most creative solutions to design, company profiling and branding are presented.
Recognition
"We are very proud to have been awarded a total of five different prizes in the international "Creativity Design Awards" this year. This is not only a major and well-deserved recognition of the work carried out by our British supplier Karakter, but also a recognition of the creative forces we have internally in Hydro," says Eva S. Mellgren of Corporate Communication, responsible for Hydro's corporate profiling.
She points out that the original and innovative design solutions of the centennial elements are founded in a clear branding strategy that was begun in Hydro several years ago, and that was launched in December 2003 through the identity- and profiling programme The Hydro Way.
"We're obviously particularly proud of having received the gold award for the centennial identifiers," comments Hanne Haugen, who heads the Centennial Office in Hydro.
"In design terms, the centennial identifiers and Hydro's logo are intended to supplement and strengthen one another and provide a visual expression of the company's strong bonds to nature and managing natural resources. Without a doubt, one's imagination is stimulated by the combination of Hydro products and elements from nature in the centennial identifiers, in such a way that they reinforce the experience of viability that we wish to communicate to the outside world," she says.