In the Footsteps of Kyösti Variksen

Today, there are approximately 300,000 Finnish citizens living outside Finland. The Finland Society (Suomi-Seura ry) acts as an advocate for Finns living abroad, those traveling there, and those returning to Finland, and offers expert assistance and other services. Founded in 1927, the association has individual and organizational members around the world. Suomi-Seura also publishes its own member magazine, *Suomen Silta*.

The Suomi-Seura’s previous logo and visual identity were outdated, and the association did not have a formal graphic design guide. The goal was to lay the foundation for Suomi-Seura’s visual identity by creating a graphic design guide where all necessary brand information could be easily found going forward. It was clear that the current visual identity—and the logo in particular—needed a refresh and a modern update. This was hardly surprising, given that the previous visual identity and logo had remained unchanged for several decades.

The Suomi-Seura’s original logo was the work of legendary designer Kyösti Varis. Varis is known, among other things, for designing the Swan Label, Finnair, and Alko logos. Our designer, Joona, certainly had big shoes to fill—and he certainly did!

The collaboration with the Suomi Society went very smoothly, and several people from the society were able to contribute to the new visual identity. The discussions during the project meetings were lively and helped everyone achieve a satisfying end result.

You can read the article about the Suomi-Seura rebranding in the digital edition of *Suomen Silta* magazine here: https://www.lukusali.fi/index.html?p=Suomen%20Silta&i=5ac7d0d4-b82c-11ed-b70b-00155d64030a. In the article, Joona also shares his thoughts on the project and the final result.