SEK turns 90 with a new visual identity

A piece of history and passion, combined with courage and faith in the future

“The anniversary gave us the push to refresh our look. An identity needs to keep up with the times, just as the business needs to renew and the brand needs to evolve. This was exactly the right moment to look at SEK from a visual perspective too,” explains SEK CEO Jaakko Rantala.

Refreshing the look of an iconic agency is no small matter. There are 130 industry professionals in-house ready to give their verdict, and the entire industry on top of that. The pressure is there, and it is real.

“In a creative business, an expressive identity is a necessity when you have no tangible product or packaging to communicate through. Our creative product shows above all in the work we make, but it shows in the new look too,” says Sebastian Hurmerinta, Creative Director at SEK, who led the team that designed the identity.

Founded by three artists

SEK’s story is one of a kind. SEK has helped build iconic Finnish brands for a long time, longer than any other agency in Finland.

“The identity has to honour our long history; we are, after all, the oldest agency operating in Finland. At the same time, it naturally has to be rooted in the present day,” says Hurmerinta.

The logo nods to the visual language of past decades while lightening it for today. It works like a typeface: it stretches and flexes, and it can fill any surface.

“The marketing world changes every day, and SEK and the logo live and breathe that change,” Hurmerinta says of the starting points for the design.

“Clients expect an agile way of working from us, one that adapts to constantly changing needs. The modern way the logo is presented brings out that side of us too,” says Rantala.

Legacy and future

Legacy and future were the starting points for the design. This shows in the colour palette, among other things.

“We wanted to find colours we could own. SEK Legacy green comes from the patina of the bronze statue of Aarne Salomaa,” Hurmerinta says, describing the creative design process. Aarne Salomaa was one of the key figures behind SEK’s success in his day. Salomaa’s descendants and family remain SEK’s main owners to this day.

“SEK Creative orange is a blend of orange and pink. Creativity has always been the soul of SEK; we were founded by three artists, after all. Artists are masters of colour, and we wanted to find a strong, artistic colour that speaks of passion, courage and faith in the future.”

A bold custom typeface that radiates strength and humanity

Today, the typeface is one of the most central parts of any identity. It appears everywhere, creates distinctiveness and tells its own story.

“We wanted to create our own typeface, unique and used only by SEK. The result was the SEK Legacy and SEK Future typefaces. SEK Legacy is a serif that radiates strength and confidence. It stands solidly on its own two feet. SEK Future is a sans serif that speaks of our human atmosphere and our forward-looking approach,” Hurmerinta explains.

A living identity

The identity is built in layers, and something new is being added all the time. We are now celebrating SEK’s 90th anniversary year, and that shows in many places.

“We are now building elements that can already be seen on our website and in our channels, for example. Our actual 90th anniversary celebrations are in autumn 2025, and the new identity is part of the celebration,” says Rantala.

This May saw the publication of Sektori magazine, which presents the identity in depth. SEK began publishing a magazine called Myynti & Mainonta (Sales & Advertising) in 1945. The name changed to Sektori in the 1950s, and it was published under that name until 1977. To mark the anniversary year, the magazine is coming out one more time.