Belomorie: Tersky Coast

MURMANSK OBLAST, RUSSIA

Tersky Coast & Kandalaksha embraced by the White Sea

The Tersky Coast is the southernmost border of the Murmanskaya Oblast that is washed by the White Sea and had always been appealing for the lovers of the northern aesthetics, fishing and hiking. Particularly helpful is the location of the place, that you can get to from Moscow and St.Petersburg by car, leaving Karelia behind. Tourists visit Kandalaksha, the port transport city hub, however not always diving further, where the true northern magic awaits. We had been asked to work under the idea of their cluster brand unification.

Client: Murmansk Cluster Development Center

Work: Research, branding, design, maps, wayfinding, illustrations

2017 … 2018

This is part 2: the Tersky Coast, that is focused on the Belomorie cluster, with its usage on Tersky Coast. If Kandalaksha is the entryway and facade of the territory, than Tersky is what tourists come for: a quiet, calm and partly unreachable. Have a look at part 1: Kandalaksha, if not already.

Tersky Coast

Kandalaksha town

Welcome to Tersky Coast

Breath in air, prepare for a long walk on the coast line, prepare for the sudden rain conditions, wear a hat against the mosquitos, pick you fishing rod and relax

Feel the Tersky vibe

Probably the best way to feel what Tersky Coast is all about is the video made by one of local entrepreneurs, that took active part in brand development, Aleksander Turkovsky. Pay attention to brand type he uses.

Tersky Coast as seen by Aleksander Trunkovsky

Getting familiar with Umba

All the discussions had been held in and around the administration center.

Embracing idea

Belomorie title was there before us, and it will be there after us, so we couldn't discuss if it's good or bad. We'd recommend to change it, for sure, because it isn't unique and has many objects with the same name around the White Sea territory.

Making place unification brands by showing contrasts is very typical story in our practice. Playing on a contrast is actually pretty funny.

Natalia Rybalchenko

BRAND STRATEGIST

If to speak about the feeling of the place, then, it's like the two polar sides of the same sphere that exist purely on the contrast and can offer different tourism experiences, that cover the whole scope of target audience available.

Tersky Coast vibe
Calm, contemplative, authentic, conservative, wooden
Kandalaksha vibe
Active, industrial, young, sportlike, proactive

Tersky Coast tourism
Family tourism, plenaries, photo tourism, fishermen, tidal contemplation
Kandalaksha tourism
Cycling, downhill, trailing, regatta, rafting, skiing, sledging, hiking, boat trips, fishing

Tersky Coast time
Slowing down
Kandalaksha time
Accelerating

So, we found it quite obvious to finish up with the pretty atmospheric and poetic mood slogan like this. Actually, there were two variant and we lost track of which is the official and which is not. Some people call it "White Sea" some prefer using "Single Sea". Let it be dual, like the whole brand is.

Two Coasts of the White Sea

Contrast identity

The whole design exists on the contrast of adding to things together. Actually that scheme is met all around the globe. If something had to be connected, which haven't been unified before, you'll definately stick to comparing differences and share target audiences between the two.

Belomorie united logo

Logo

Concept follows the idea of a shapeshifter and turns accordingly to the point of the viewer. While you're in Tersky Coast, it will be on top, otherwise, the Kandalaksha will remain on top. That's how we depicted the idea of unificating to different coasts on the White Sea.

Two-sided logo of Belomorie with emphasis on Tersky Coast (left) or Kandalaksha (right)

Belomorie logo with Tersky Coast point of view, so it stands on top

Umba tranquility vs Kandalaksha energy

Umba logo has wooden, slightly calved roughened style, while Kandalaksha is metal sharp and uncompromising, even agressive in some way.

Dynamic Tersky emblem

Can be changed according to the context

Belomorie Script Family

It is known, that the type is what drives the good brand forward. It is communication, it is easy to use and you can get your result fast when implement. Belomorie brand is like a two-sided coin, so does the family and consists of two look-a-like type with slight, but noticible differences.

Belomorie Tersky Script is all rough and ragged, like made of the wood and sticks. Warm and uneven, bumpy and far from excellent.

Belomorie Kanda Script is all sharp as glass, plain and straight. All the lines like the trace after the skateboard, left on the slope.

Icons

All the secondary activities, artifacts, ideas and symbols of Kandalaksha has been added for everyday needs.

Illustrations

The main difference between Kandalaksha and Tersky Coast is that calm vibe that overwhelmes when you get here. To show it, we had created a visual illustration style for the Tersky Coast which suits here perfectly.

Don't repeat my mistake. Never draw artsy illustrations, because later on nobody could repeat or edit them without spoiling the whole thing. That means, client would either put the same illustrations again and again, or ask for making new ones. That happenes to be a problem, due to the constant shortage of time I'm experiencing.

Igor Makovsky

ART DIRECTOR, DESIGNER AND ILLUSTRATOR

Wayfinding in Umba

You have to walk in Umba. It made for a patient scenery observing tourism, walking mesmerized on wooden pathways. Knowing this, Umba administration asked us to help with the wayfinding project, that had been fully realised then.

The holy wayfinding trinity: the pillar, the arrow directional sign and the tablets

The panorama map of the whole territory

Varzuga 600th anniversary

Varzuga is the farthermost you can get on car is the small village on the river with the same name. It's all about the northern architecture and churches with that special feeling of a place, that is hardly to get to, secluded, quite and peaceful.

In 2019 we had been asked to help Project Office for Arctic Development with Varzuga anniversary branding in the united family with our unificated brand. As a secondary step, a promo page had been done. Go check the photos and read about the festival, that was, as far as we understand, the Varzugaday. We used all the elements from the core brandbook and added a few new ones just for the festival. We're not sure 100% if they were all used, actually, because there's no photo proof.

Client: Project Office for Arctic Development

Work: Branding, design

2019

How it goes

You can meet brand mostly as a wayfinding system. People happen to get in touch with the map, and like it. Some festivals tend to use the identity and the official tourist center remain sticking to it. Rather than that, the results are more calm, than in Kandalaksha. You can hardly compete when it in terms of loudness, especially if you're Umba and you think differently.