Wales has been given a new national brand, which aims to "do the country justice" and stop it being "eclipsed" by other UK countries.
Cardiff-based consultancy Smorgasbord was commissioned by the Welsh Government to complete the rebrand, which will see a new unified logo used across Wales' tourism, business, and food and drink sectors. It has been designed so that the Government can use it across public service sectors such as healthcare and education, alongside its own branding. An abstract, "painterly", red dragon – previously used for Wales' tourism arm Visit Wales – has been replaced with a flatter, graphic representation of a dragon which aims to better reflect the red dragon seen on the Welsh flag.
As part of rebranding the Wales, the colophon type foundry was commissioned by the Tourism department of the Welsh Government to create a new type family for all things Welsh. The brief was to create a series of fonts that would contemporize the country's forward-facing tourism materials while also nodding to Wales' history within the larger context of Great Britain and the world.
The typeface is used at three different "levels", says Griffith, with a "simple, neutral" form without glyphs being used for business applications, whereas versions with "more personality" incorporating the Welsh symbols are used for tourism purposes.
The Welsh language has 28 characters with the inclusion of eight digraphs, or letter-combinations. Taking inspiration from the land itself. They took cues from Celtic and Gaelic typographies to inform several of the consonants (d, h, l, m, n, u), taking special care not to wander into the territory of pastiche or parody. These forms comprised the infrastructure for the more expressive, headline cut of the type family (Cymru – Welsh for 'Wales'), while Wales Sans acted as the more staid (and, indeed, English-language) counterpart.
The branding has now rolled out further and since then there has been a 30% increase in Visit Wales' social media followers, five million unique visitors to the Visit Wales website over the past 12 months and North Wales has been featured in Lonely Planet's guide of "top locations in the world".
A feeling as much as a graphical kit of parts – the brand provides a platform for the Welsh nation across a wide range of sectors; seeking to engage, inform, invite, challenge and support in equal measure. It draws together disparate strands of activity, creating a 'glue' that unites the great people and places of Wales: digitally, physically and culturally.
Every brand touchpoint was addressed – from core marque to a bespoke typeface, from tone of voice and photography guidelines to experiential initiatives. A unified brand approach brought to life with creative excellence and transformative ideas – with the power to create a confident new way of thinking and behaving.