Musikkontoret

The Music Office (Musikkontoret) is a joint digital resource led by 7 regional organisations providing support and knowledge to Norwegian music industry professionals. The target group is vast, and includes anyone working with music; whether it be on or off stage – including artists, songwriters and composers as well as engineers, managers, record companies and promoters.

The site, and growing number of services provided therein, include landing pages for each regional organisation, interviews, step-by-step guides, tools for searching and filtering grants, a growing glossary of music-industry terminology, as well as numerous templates and other resources – all accessible through one single digital platform.

Creating the site and services was one part of the job, while unifying 7 autonomous organisations into a single brand was another. Initially the project was not scoped to include branding and organisational strategy. Some of the organisations had quite recently been rebranded, and there were no naming conventions in place. Through multiple workshops and interviews we established a common understanding of what was needed to meet organisational needs, as well as facilitate a coherent user experience. We developed a distinct, yet flexible visual system were the individual organisations could maintain autonomy while conveying unity with each other.

The brand identity borrows heavily from a graphic vocabulary seen on stereo equipment such as amplifiers, synthesizers and drum machines. In many ways, such equipment can be considered a kind of common denominator across the industry. The user interface does not only consist of buttons and knobs though, and needed to accommodate the publishing of longer articles, and therefore facilitate a great reading experience. Typography and the contrast between the two fonts (LL Bradford and Chroma) are therefore central to the profile. The main colour theme derives from fluorescent high-light marker pens; a hallmark of any respectable office.