Orkesteråret

The Year of the Orchestras! Celebration, joy, and community combined in one identity

Overview

Founded on April 20, 1974, the Youth Orchestra Association (UNOF/De Unges Orkesterforbund) celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024. This milestone required engaging all UNOF members, as well as everyone involved in orchestral music across Norway and their partners both nationally and internationally. As part of the celebration, we developed the concept and identity for this special year long event, creating a visual expression that captures the spirit of celebration whilst fostering pride and community among orchestra musicians.

Client
UNOF (no: De Unges Orkesterforbund / en: The Youth Orchestra Association) is an organisation for children and youth orchestras in Norway, founded on April 20, 1974. As of 2025, the organisation has around 6000 members in around 180 local orchestras. The members consist of children and young people aged 2–26 years. The member orchestras vary in size from string quartets to full symphony orchestras.
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Target Audience
UNOF members, focusing on teenagers (ages 13–18). Secondary: Granting authorities (local, regional, and national), professional communities and their target audiences, and the general population.

Three colourful "Samklang!" Orkesteråret 2024 posters on a dark wall, each showing joyful young musicians and confetti graphics promoting nationwide orchestra celebrations.

Ensemble!

The anniversary celebration aimed to highlight UNOF as an organisation and celebrate the work done for the children's and youth orchestra sector in Norway. In addition, we wanted to foster a sense of pride and community among orchestra musicians whilst promoting even more joy in playing music.

Our goal was to make the orchestra scene in Norway more accessible to the public, aiming to reach a larger and more diverse audience than ever before. The Orchestra Year 2024 would help spark musical harmony among both performers and audiences through concerts and various projects.

Open laptop and smartphone on a paint-splattered school table showing the Orkesteråret website and menu, demonstrating the colourful festival branding across digital devices.

Two blue Orkesterdagen business cards with colourful confetti graphics lying on dark blue fabric in sunlight, promoting the national orchestra celebration day.

How to Show that Everyone Can Play in an Orchestra

Diversity, community, and the joy of music! These core values would raise awareness that orchestras are not elitist; they are cool and for everyone! We intentionally moved away from the "typically classical" look – with dark colours and a somewhat formal expression. Instead, we focused on the strong sense of community and the social aspects of playing in an orchestra, particularly emphasising the people, especially the children, within the orchestras.

To support this vision, we organised a photoshoot with photographer Rebecca Zeller to highlight the everyday joys and camaraderie of orchestra life.

Two smiling school pupils in front of a blackboard throwing sheet music into the air, symbolising the joy and freedom of playing in an orchestra.

Teen musicians laughing together in a wooden rehearsal room, holding flute, double bass and violin, capturing the playful community feeling of Orkesteråret ensembles.

Recognition and Versatile Elements as a Base

We further developed the visual identity, drawing on UNOF's existing identity to create recognition for those behind the celebration, ensuring that our communication remains cohesive. The logo is designed in a circle – an "easy" shape that is both clear and versatile, evoking associations with music, instruments, and notes. It's playful and adaptable, allowing for expansion into animations.
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A varied colour palette, combined with confetti and glitter graphics, enhances the identity, creating a playful and festive atmosphere. In addition to the visual identity, we developed a website, along with templates for posters, invitations, roll-ups, social media, and merchandise/clothing. Both children and young members were actively involved in developing the new identity, which was essential for achieving a cohesive and successful result.

Hand holding a "Samklang!" programme booklet with Orkesteråret branding in front of blooming magnolia flowers, linking the visual identity to a festive spring setting.

Pink Orkesteråret 2024 scarf laid on yellow background, printed with repeating green circle logos, showing how the visual identity is applied to wearable merchandise.

Pattern of overlapping Orkesteråret 2024 circle logos in bright green, blue, pink, red and yellow on pale background, demonstrating flexible festival identity graphics.

We intentionally moved away from the "typically classical" look – with dark colours and a somewhat formal expression. Instead, we focused on the strong sense of community and the social aspects of playing in an orchestra, particularly emphasising the people, especially the children, within the orchestras.

String of triangular flags decorated with Orkesteråret 2024 logos hanging along a curved wooden staircase, turning a concert venue into a festive celebration space.

Young French horn player wearing an Orkesteråret scarf performing with a youth orchestra in a bright concert hall, surrounded by fellow musicians and music stands.

Three young children playing violins on stage during an Orkesteråret concert, each wearing colourful accessories, illustrating the project's focus on inclusive music-making for kids.

Result

The Orchestra Year 2024 identity successfully captured the celebratory spirit of UNOF's 50th anniversary whilst breaking away from traditional classical music aesthetics. The vibrant, playful visual language resonated strongly with members, particularly the youth, who embraced the fresh approach to orchestral identity. The versatile design system – from logo to confetti graphics – provided flexibility for various applications, from digital platforms to merchandise, ensuring consistent and engaging communication across all touchpoints.
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The photoshoot with Rebekka Zeller brought authenticity to the identity, showcasing the real joy and community spirit within the orchestras. This human-centred approach helped communicate that orchestras are accessible and welcoming spaces for everyone, challenging preconceived notions about classical music being exclusive or elitist.

The comprehensive toolkit of templates and materials enabled UNOF to maintain a cohesive visual presence throughout the anniversary year, whilst the website served as a central hub for celebrating achievements and engaging both members and the broader public.

We are very pleased with the profile WeForm created for the Orchestra Year! Just the other day, I overheard someone say it's the coolest logo they've ever seen. The colours are vibrant and highly visible.

- Birgit Djupedal, Project Manager

The project successfully created a sense of pride and belonging among orchestra members whilst making orchestral music more approachable and accessible to a wider audience, setting a new standard for how youth orchestras can present themselves with energy, warmth, and inclusivity.