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Shaping 40,000 islands into one destination.

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Western Finland's archipelago is the largest in the world: more than 40,000 islands scattered across the Archipelago Sea. Despite its extraordinary scale, it remained largely unknown beyond the region. Bond was tasked with creating a destination brand that could attract visitors, strengthen local identity, and unite a fragmented geography under a shared vision.

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In Finnish, saaristo means archipelago and is already used to describe the region itself. Rather than inventing a new name, we built the brand from the one people already knew.

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This led to a simple organising idea: Shaped by Saaristo. Not a slogan, but a way of understanding the archipelago as something continuously formed by wind, water, ice, and the people who move through it. A place that reveals itself gradually and leaves a lasting impression.

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The identity follows the same principle. Saaristo's wordmark is formed from eight real islands, their actual outlines crafted into letterforms. The wider visual system grows from the relationships between islands, creating a cohesive language from a landscape defined by connection.

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The brand was designed with a longer-term ambition in mind. Sustainable tourism, done well, creates a positive feedback loop: increased visibility supports local services, strengthens communities, and helps protect the environment. Saaristo was built to support that process.

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The result was clarity. What had previously been experienced as a collection of separate places became legible as one destination, with a shared language for municipalities, tourism operators, residents, and visitors alike.

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While the full impact is still emerging, the region is already showing strong momentum. Finnair has resumed flights between Turku and Helsinki, passenger numbers at Turku Airport are rising, new hotel and resort investments are underway, and tourism has been identified as a strategic priority in Turku's development agenda. Local tourism businesses are also investing more actively in new experiences and international visibility.

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The strongest brands are not invented. They emerge by recognising what is already uniquely present and giving it a voice powerful enough for the world to see.

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Shaped by Saaristo.