 NEW LOGO: This will be Hydro's new logo. |
The Hydro "Viking Ship" logo set sail nearly a century ago. Now it's getting a fresh look, for the first time presented at Hydro's Capital Markets Day in Oslo on Thursday.
Why are we changing the Hydro logo? Hydro has gone through some important changes in recent years, with the acquisition of VAW and the establishment of Agri as an independent company being just a few examples.
These changes are part of a strategic process conducted by corporate management to strengthen Hydro's value-creating potential as one enterprise.
This process included clarification of Hydro's institutional talents, its mission, its values, and how each business area will contribute to fulfilling this mission as it moves forward. In this respect, Hydro's new logo is an important, unifying factor.
A century of logo history
Although the Viking Ship has been with Hydro a long time, the company's first logo was something else altogether.
 HISTORICAL: Hydro has had many logos over the years. The current Viking Ship design will follow Agri. |
"The Wheat Ear" logo had at its center a symbol representing an electric furnace. This was encircled by three wheat ear decorative groups. And between these were mongrams made up of the letters B and E, standing for Birkeland and Eyde, the two founders of the company.
The Viking Ship debuted in 1910, rendered by painter Thorolf Holmboe. This very detailed version proved difficult to use on coarse fertilizer bags and a simplified version was penned in 1913.
Interestingly, the Viking long boat theme was so popular among other companies that Hydro had to file several lawsuits - and threaten several more - to protect its trademark.
Exclusive rights didn't solve all the problems, however. A company survey in the late 1950s revealed that 20 different versions were in use, the product of artistic liberties taken at Hydro locations around the world.
The symbol that identified Hydro throughout the modern age was the simple Viking Ship silhouette of three sail stripes and four shields which was developed in 1972. The original colors were green and black, which were replaced three years later with blue and white.
To strengthen the company's brand image, the name "Hydro" was added to the logo in 1982, and has stood until today.
Forward movement...
To signal the important changes in The Hydro Way and the commitment to building on the strengths that have made Hydro a successful company for almost 100 years, Hydro is updating its communications strategy and visual design, including the Viking ship logo.
Hydro's new symbol is a more modern, abstracted update of its Viking ship mark with its primary element being the forward movement of the sails. These are embedded in a spherical shape suggestive of Hydro's international reach.