Case Study: City of Helsinki achieves a modern, functional city brand with Werklig

City of Helsinki boosts visits 19% and saves thousands of person-hours with Werklig

The City of Helsinki faced the challenge of creating a unified, functional visual identity system for its 40,000 employees that could be applied across all services and communications. The city partnered with branding agency Werklig to develop a new identity that would express its goal of becoming the most functional city in the world and resonate with a diverse audience, from residents to international visitors.

Werklig's solution involved an extensive co-creation process with over 200 city employees, resulting in a new identity derived from Helsinki's historic coat of arms. The adaptive logo, wave motif, custom Helsinki Grotesk font, and new image narrative created a system that was both modern and familiar. The impact was significant: Helsinki's branding is now ranked among the top five in the world, visitor numbers increased by 19% in the year following the launch, and the city saves thousands of person-hours annually with the easy-to-use system, resulting in considerable internal savings for taxpayers.

City of Helsinki