Stockholm-based creative agency Identity Works has unveiled its recent collaboration with Morakniv, a 130-year-old knife brand from the small city of Mora in Sweden.

The agency has created a new identity for the brand, which pays homage to its long history and the traditions of the local area.

The branding follows an overarching ‘hand-carved’ concept, which feeds into everything from the typography to the packaging, and references the renowned quality of Morakniv products.

Immediately obvious is the colour palette, which is dominated by a rich and vibrant red that is based on “the classic Mora Red” – a colour found in nearby mines in the area which has adorned the handles of the knives since the very beginning.

This colour complements the pattern used in the branding, which was inspired by “traditional folklore ribbons that originate from the small village in Mora”, according to the agency.

Elsewhere, photography plays a significant part in communicating the spirit of the brand, with Identity Works saying that “Morakniv already had beautiful images of their products but they were missing an emotional layer to their imagery”.

To improve on this, the team enlisted the help of Swedish photographer Agnes Maltesdotter, who shot a series of new images that “bring in an epic feel”.

The brand’s typography has also been updated, with the typeface Sastre (designed by María Ramos from NM type) becoming the main feature due to its hand-carved appearance. This is paired with a “fun two-layered colour font” that has been used for numerals in Morakniv’s communication.

Finally, the new recyclable packaging for each knife adheres to the hand-carved theme and features a display window cut to resemble “the negative shapes of the typeface”, proudly framing the knife and emphasising Morakniv’s new motto: Quality takes no shortcuts.

identityworks.se