Center of Attention

 

Established in 1993 through the consolidation of the Nuclear Energy Safety Authority and the National institute of Radiation Hygiene, the Direktoratet for Strålevern og Atomsikkerhet (DSA for short, “Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority” in English) in Norway is the national authority and expert body in matters concerning nuclear security, radiation use, natural radiation, and radioactive contamination in the environment. As part of Norway’s Ministry of Health and Care Services, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Climate and Environment, the DSA has the mandate of the country’s safety, security, and safeguarding as well as the international task of promoting radiation protection, nuclear security, nuclear safety, disarmament, and non-proliferation. Heavy. Recently, the DSA introduced a new identity designed by Oslo, Norway-based Bielke&Yang.

Note: Monday’s posts published Sunday night as I’m taking a red-eye flight from Lima and otherwise I’d be publishing late. The things I do for y’all…

Today, DSA continues to work with nuclear security and other sensitive topics, making it important for DSA to make people feel safe and secure. Therefore, it was essential to create a visual identity that encourages a sense of calm, and at the same time communicate how the DSA has oversight of the international and national radiation landscape, as an expert the population of Norway can trust.

Bielke&Yang provided text

Other organizations working with nuclear security and radiation typically use the nuclear core in its logo symbols. Making the new visual identity for DSA, we wanted to show that radiation is something more than an atomic symbol, but acknowledge that it is a constantly moving and changing force which we are surrounded by at all times and should be respected. DSA recognise this fact and by expressing this movement in their logo they make it clear that they are not avoiding the responsibility or trust people have put in them when dealing with such a dangerous substance in all its forms. […] The abstract symbol is also inspired by instruments DSA uses to measure radiation. From those instruments, we also gathered a broad spectrum colour palette, that symbolizes the depth of expertise found within DSA. The blue main colour is from the center of the colour spectrum, from where DSA works with different aspects of radiation.

Bielke&Yang provided text

I might have a cultural gap with understanding the old logo — whether there is a particular meaning to the shapes involved in the icon or not — but if I don’t, holly hell, that was one grim icon, looking all bloody and death-metal-y but, almost comically, paired with an unassuming sans serif. “Keep Calm and Carry On” it was not. The new logo is quite nice both conceptually and visually. On the former, to me, the icon reads as the dissipation of a nuclear epicenter with the icon getting lighter at the edges — on the flipside of my interpretation, when the logo is animated, it could be interpreted as the radiation dispersing, which is not ideal but any feeling of threat is mitigated by the execution. There is a certain softness and calmness to the icon, mostly through its light blue color. It feels peaceful and like things are under control. Its animation on video is lovely as the footage changes the color of the icon through its transparency. The wordmark is fine, nothing surprising, which is the correct answer here, with this being a government organization there is no need for further design tricks.

Not sure what many of these are but they all look convincing and nicely integrated as a system of icons. The red one on the far right in the middle row is my favorite. Could easily be a logo for something on its own.

A key element of the DSA identity is the gradient pattern that appears across various profile elements; website, report covers and posters. The pattern is constructed from small squares, and is an extension of the thinking and form of the DSA logo. The collective movement of these forms is linked to the idea of collaboration while also referencing the constantly moving and changing force that is radiation.

Bielke&Yang provided text

---

Not a whole lot in terms of application, but the covers above make up for the shortage. The edge-to-edge pixelated gradients look great on the covers with the crisp typographic layout and the transparent logo at the bottom changing colors, chameleon-like, based on the gradients underneath. Would definitely enjoy seeing some more stuff.