LAB Institute of Design and Fine Arts

Reform begins with form

LAB Institute of Design and Fine Arts

Contributions

Brand Strategy, Storytelling, Logo Design, Motion Design,

Industry

Education

LAB Muotoiluinstituutti (LAB Institute of Design and Fine Arts), based in Lahti, is one of Finland’s most prestigious creative higher-education institutions. It operates as part of LAB University of Applied Sciences — a multidisciplinary university focused on applied learning, innovation and real-world impact.

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When the Institute set out to renew its visual identity, the ambition was not cosmetic.

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It was structural.

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The goal was to strengthen its position in an increasingly competitive higher-education landscape, clarify its role within the larger LAB organisation, and reignite its appeal among future designers, artists and creative professionals — both in Finland and internationally.

We set out to create an identity that would inspire students while embodying the institute’s core philosophy: to reform, rethink, and reshape.

The logo was designed as a malleable form — almost like clay. A shape that invites experimentation and constant transformation, while retaining its core identity.

Higher education branding often talks about programmes, facilities or heritage.

We chose to talk about identity.

The strategic shift was to move from describing education to defining transformation.

Instead of presenting the Institute as a place to study design, we positioned it as a launchpad for a new kind of creative professional — individuals who actively reshape their field, their surroundings and themselves.

Not dreamers.
Doers.

Which led to the core idea: The line “Muotoillaanpa se toisin” carries a double meaning in Finnish: “Let’s design it differently” and “Let’s reformulate that.” It became both invitation and provocation.
Do you want to become just another professional — or someone who reshapes the field?

To embody this concept, we developed a custom digital tool that allows any letter to be reshaped freely, giving students the ability to actively engage with the identity instead of just observing it.

Students don’t just use the identity, they reform it, producing their own characters and shapes as part of the system. This frames students as central to the identity — and the institute itself.

A living identity for a living discipline.

From this foundation, patterns and cropped logo elements were expanded into large-scale applications, transforming surfaces and spaces into bold brand statements.

The identity had to embody reform — not merely state it.

The logo has a master form, but its DNA is never static. In motion, it continuously reforms from within, refusing to settle into a fixed expression.

Its negative space becomes a creative spark — a rupture, a portal, a container for content and people.

The visual system is built on a strong black-and-white backbone, amplified by bold accent colours that create contrast, optimism and productive tension.

Typography balances classical discipline with expressive character — reform within tradition.

Photography avoids staged perfection. Instead, it captures real immersion: hands in paint, faces mid-laughter, moments of intensity and experimentation. Students and alumni not posing — but doing.

To support this flexibility, we created a bespoke dynamic typeface for the institute. The typography alone is strong enough to carry the brand, allowing the school to communicate powerfully using just a single word.

The system is flexible, adaptive and alive, yet controlled. Because reform does not mean chaos. And creativity does not reject structure.

We also created small films about LAB alumni where they tell what they learned during their studies, and how they have applied that knowledge to their work in the creative field.

“For the first time, it feels like we have a story and an actual, genuine identity — not just a visual identity, let alone one-off campaigns or marketing materials. This is not a small step forward, but a significant moment for us.”

Tytti-Lotta Ojala

Dean, LAB Institute of Design and Fine Arts