New waves

Since 2011, Trondheim Calling has brought forth new Norwegian music, talked shop, and grown significantly in both size and scope. 

In 2023, a new team took the reins and figured a visual revamp was due — and we were lucky enough to take part in the makeover.

3 days, 9 venues, 80 artists — while also hosting an industry conference. In other words, Trondheim Calling is a lot. 

Previously, TC’s visual identity leaned dark, edgy and masculine, communicating rock and metal more than anything. Meanwhile, branding for the conference felt detached from the festival part, muddying TC as the singular sender.    

With the new identity, it was important to get this musical breadth and diverse program across. It had to appeal to soft pop- and hard rock-lovers alike, to the concert-going student looking for a good time, and the record label agent looking to network. All while maintaining Trondheim Calling as a recognizable and cohesive brand.

A tactile feel with bold typography, handwritten elements, and outgoing colors — all concepts that emerged from our initial workshops with the TC-team — were used to springboard into the creative process. 

Given that “Trondheim Calling” plays on The Clash’s iconic “London Calling”, we drew inspiration from punk rock zines, record stickers, and vintage ticket stubs. Tilted and hastily “glued-on” stickers, and flash lit photography complete with film grain, evoke the raw energy of both the unsigned artists and the cramped venues they play at.

Obviously is the sole font, but its range of weights — from condensed thin to extended extrabold — adds visual variety and accommodates artist names of all lengths. It also serves in the adaptive wordmark. “Calling” being embraced by sound waves pays homage to the very first TC-poster, and how The Clash in turn referenced the BBC’s WWII radio broadcasts.

A saturated color palette lightens the mood, ensuring the identity feels exciting and welcoming. TC’s classic triangular antenna symbol was brought back after a long hiatus, and has been expanded upon to now serve as a way to differentiate between TC as a whole, the festival, and the conference.

The conference visuals called for a softer, more professional tone. A subtle zine-inspired halftone backdrop and the more subdued variants of Obviously — all while keeping the identity distinctly Trondheim Calling.

Dynamic typography, stickers at odd angles, and a playful color palette come together to represent TC’s broad lineup and diverse program.

Once approved, we created Illustrator templates for the TC-team to use in the lead-up to the festival. They did a fantastic job with the implementation.

Trondheim Calling 2024 broke previous records, with a 10% increase in delegate passes sold and an impressive 40% rise in festival pass sales compared to the year before.