Such a poisonous new building on Óðinshædd

52 people took part in the competition, and over a hundred entries were received. Norse theology and especially Odin was a recurring theme among the many proposals.

– We are overwhelmed by the great interest and would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to send us their suggestions, says Angela Lindenskov at Bøgarð, who is marketing coordinator at LÍV.

The name

Although many name suggestions were good, none were specific enough. The judges had the right to choose from the crowd as they pleased – but they also had the right to choose nothing. However, they were inspired by all the good suggestions, and from this came a new name.

– The name is Óðinsbrú, and it interacts well with the location. Brú is of course an ancient form of bridge, and the building stands high on the hill, where it resembles a bit of a bridge on a ship. One can imagine Óðin standing on the bridge and looking over Nólsoyarfjörður, says Angela. 

The bookmark

Although no name was chosen from all the proposals, the situation was different in the logo competition. Among all the nifty proposals for the new logo, there was one that immediately stood out. In its striking simplicity, the logo was modern, while the classic color combination gave it a touch of dignity. 

– As you can see in the picture, the line above the O’s does not slope, but is horizontal. This breaks the orthographic rules, but at the same time opens up new interpretations. While a line on a chessboard represents excitement, a horizontal line represents balance, precision and security, and thus the logo reflects very well the activities in the building, where among other things Norðoya Sparikassi and we in LÍV will be located soon, points out Angela. 

Henry á Fríðriksmørk won the logo competition, and he says about the logo:

– Seen as pure forms, the logo is just a circle and a line. Some may think of binary data (zero-digits and one-digits), others may see a gold coin and think money. Maybe someone gets references to something sacred like a glory or a royal crown. I wanted the logo to be open to interpretation.

The landmark will thus be part of the graphic identity of the new building, which will be called Óðinsbrú. And it can be said that the name and the logo fit well together, because as a whole they represent leadership, transparency and security, which are the key words of LÍV and Norðoya Sparikassi, which deal with life insurance and manage money for others.

– We have already got used to the new name and logo, so now we are just looking forward to moving in on August 4th, says Angela Lindenskov á Bøgarð, marketing coordinator at LÍV, at the end.