The Dutch Monarch gets a rebrand from Koeweiden Postma
On 30 April, Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand of the House of Orange-Nassau became the Netherlands’ first king in 123 years.
To celebrate, the City of Amsterdam turned to design firm Koeweiden Postma to “dress the town”, including the design of a new logo for the monarch.
The brief stated that “the design cannot include a crown, nor can it show text or any images of the new monarch.” However, the national colours—red, white, and blue—as well as orange, were to be used.
In response, Koeweiden Postma developed a logo based on Willem-Alexander’s monogram, removing the crown and stripping the insignia down to the initials W and A; they then modified the colours, angles, and lines of the monogram.
The logo appeared on 1,100 flags and banners, more than 500 bus shelter posters and billboards, 30 buildings, and 140,000 paper crowns that were handed out.
Speaking to Bloomberg Business week, Sagi Haviv, partner and designer at Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv said: “The Dutch royal brand overhaul is likely the first of its kind. But isn’t that an interesting statement about the world we live in? Everyone wants to get noticed and be represented by something that can work in digital media.”
He continued: “Nobody wants to look stodgy, especially when you’re royalty.”