Lapland Place Branding

Project Background

Step into the enchanting realm of Lapland, where the timeless allure of tradition harmonises with the breathtaking tapestry of natural beauty. Lapland is also home to the Sami People (the only indigenous people of the European Union) whose culture dates back countless generations, shaped by the relationship with the land they live in.

In this project, I developed a brand for this magical region, with the aid of AI tools such as Midjourney and ChatGPT.

Place Branding Visual Communication visual identity experimental ai midjourney concept art augmented reality Branding and Identity Lapland

Mindmapping process

Conceptualisation

After doing research on various aspects of Lapland such as the places, traditions, food and environment, I gathered my thoughts into two mindmaps to determine what truly defined Lapland. I realised that Lapland's rich folklore is not as widely known as its stunning scenery. I decided toI focus on creating a brand that showcases Lapland's rich culture and tradition.

Typography

Colour palette

Lapland: Home to the Sami logo

Brand Illustrations

Midjourney as inspiration

I drew inspiration from Sami textile patterns, which make use of grid-like, geometric patterns. I generated the images from Midjourney with three particular areas in mind-Lake Inari (Heart of Sami culture), Rovaniemi (Birthplace of Santa Claus) and Kemi (Snow castle & seafood).

Midjourney prompt: Traditional textile patterns based on the city Rovaniemi, Christmas tradition, red and green, reindeer, sleigh bells, geometric modern, digital art, simplified

Midjourney prompt: A textile pattern that represents Lake Inari, wilderness, land, sea, animals, Sami Culture, Sami Livelihood, Sami values, captures the beauty of Lake Inari, simple geometric modern style, digital

Midjourney prompt: Traditional textile patterns inspired by Kemi in Finnish Lapland, Snow castle, majestic, icicle patterns, snowflake patterns, geometric modern patterns, wilderness, digital art

Developmental Sketches

My Illustrations

Applying the Illustrations to the reindeer Christmas ornament

Lasercutting reindeer process

AR Animation: The legend of the firefox

In Sami folklore, a great firefox spirit has been said to be responsible for the magnificent Northern Lights. As the firefox runs across the snow, the sparks of its fiery tail are flung into the night sky, causing revontulet, or foxfires. Revontulet used to be how the Sami People would refer to the Northern Lights.

Midjourney Prompt: firefox running across the night sky over Lapland, Northern Lights in the background, mystical, ethereal

Developmental Sketches

Using the midjourney images as inspiration, I developed the character design for the firefox, and also drew the running poses.

Sketches of the firefox

Colour Experimentations

Storyboard for the animation

Full animation

AR Demonstration

Greeting Card Augmented Reality (AR) Experience

I created postcards with the artwork that provides an Augmented Reality (AR) experience. The viewer will be able to see the Firefox spirit running across the sky followed by short explanation about the lore.

Lapland App Experience

The app provides detailed information and introduces the folklore of Lapland to potential tourists.

Developmental Sketches