The Foreign Ministry’s web portal "Norway - the official site" received the Norwegian Design Council Award for Design Excellence 2004.
03/12/2004 :: The Award in the category “digital solution” was presented to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with APT Designs.
- The Foreign Ministry is pleased and proud to be granted the Award for Design Excellence 2004 together with the APT Designs. This award is the most important recognition an organisation in Norway can be given for the development and use of design,” said State Secretary Sylvi Graham.
- Avoids clichés
In explaining its choice, the Norwegian Design Council said: “The Foreign Ministry’s web portal is young, lively and appealing, and avoids the clichés that government organisations often resort to. Norway - the official site offers an impressive amount of information and is easy to navigate. The visual profile is consistent, and works in all the various country and language versions.”
The design vision
With its clean-cut, modern design in the Scandinavian tradition, the APT Designs won the design competition arranged by the Foreign Ministry in the spring of 2003 for creating the right visual image for Norway - the official site.
- We wanted to convey Norway’s special character and identity in a way that reflects the Scandinavian design tradition. We have designed a special font, “Aeroportal”, which forms a subtle but distinctive theme that expresses friendliness, clarity and dynamism. The use of internet as a parameter for developing the visual profile is an exciting new departure in the field of promotion and brand building. The internet is changing from a mere channel of information to a source of inspiration,” says Senior Designer Per Olav Walmann of APT Designs.
The development of the technical solution for the portal has been made by Objectware AS, which won the technical competition also arranged in 2003.
Norway’s official interface
Norway - the official site is the home page of Norway’s embassies and is thus Norway’s official interface with the world on Internet. The target group is therefore a very broad one, and includes everyone who wants to know more about Norway, whether about politics, the economy, culture, education, tourism, visas or the Royal Family.
As of today 75 countries have got their own Norway - the official site, and each month 150 000 people use it as a source of information. Norway - the official site exists in 18 languages, and each country has its own specially adapted version. By the end of 2004 all the Norwegian foreign service missions will have their own pages, which they can use actively in their information and promotion activities.