CHALLENGE
The Danish broadcasting corporation DR’s new concert venue Koncerthuset marks the ambition of creating the new national stage for music in a broad sense. The hall, which was designed by the world-famous architect Jean Nouvel, is likely to become one of the most breath-taking, untraditional architectural achievements in Danish history. The challenge was to develop an identity to match DR’s intentions of attracting a wider and younger audience without compromising on architecture, artistic quality in the music, or the quality of the external communication.

PROCESS
Several user studies had indicated that the majority of the Danish population considered the old concert hall beautiful, yet somewhat old-fashioned and mainly aimed at an older audience. The new concert hall represents a far wider musical programme, from classical music to jazz, rock, pop, electronic music, etc. For that reason, four of the letters in the name ‘Koncerthuset’ were replaced with numbers to tell visitors which stage or studio features their particular concert.

RESULT
The result is an identity inspired by the rough architecture – raw concrete, orange shades, shiny silver floors and the innovative facade, which resembles a giant interactive TV screen. The typeface was custom-designed but based on the architectural universe, where stencil fonts are familiar on building sites. The visual identity was awarded a Gold Creative Circle Awards 2009.

Design discipline Graphic design and visual identity
Company DR
Design company e-Types A/S