Thingvellir National Park
“Come and wander.”
CONCEPT
Thingvellir National Park is perhaps Iceland’s most important cultural and geographic location—a stunning 92 square miles that encapsulate milestones of Iceland’s 1100-year history and the only place in the world where tectonic plates meet above the earth’s crust. It is a paradise for anthropologists and geologists alike, not to mention a major international tourist destination. Despite this, I was baffled that its current website and brand do not reflect how incredible the land is. In fact, a Google search yields better pictures of the park than the current Thingvellir website. With an upgraded visual identity, a new online experience, and advertisements directed at adventurous tourists, this rebrand instills Thingvellir National Park with the significance and beauty it deserves.
VOICE
Rugged, Profound, Authentic, Informational
WORK
+ Logo
+ Visual Identity
+ Website
+ Tourist and park ranger apparel
+ Printed souvenirs and brochures
+ Advertisements via digital platforms
POSITIONING
Thingvellir is an incredible area worth exploring by any traveler, seasoned or unseasoned. Since it is so intimately tied to Iceland’s history and is a world-renowned geological site, this update reframes the park as the “crown jewel” of Iceland—a place so important and magnificent that any visit to Iceland would be incomplete without experiencing it.
GUIDING QUESTIONS
+ Which elements of the current brand were working, and how could those elements be updated in a way that maintained their original identity?
+ What kind of brand components needed to be added?
+ What are tourists looking for online when planning a trip to somewhere far away?
+ How can a brand successfully exist in two languages?
ADVERTISING
It’s easy to find activities or qualities unique to Thingvellir National Park—there is nowhere else in the world where you can swim and dive between tectonic plates, for instance. In order to advertise to American audiences, these unique activities are presented as Thingvellir’s “thing.” On one level, this copy connects an enticing activity to the brand, and on the other, it helps with pronunciation since the Icelandic letter thorn (Þ, þ), which makes the “th” sound, looks similar to a “p” in English. Finally, the call to action “Come and wander.” emphasizes the profundity and magnificence of a place imbued with the status of “crown jewel.”
