NAME CONTEST
Korundi House of Culture was named through a contest held in March 2009. Nearly 700 suggestions were submitted for the contest. The winning name was KORUNDI (CORUNDUM), which was suggested by Rovaniemi resident Einerakel Pulju.
“Korundi (corundum) is also a mineral found in Lapland, which is known as the second hardest mineral in the world. Ruby and sapphire are part of the corundum group. In fact, the best corundums have been found in Lapland. Moreover, a star formation can be produced in a corundum by grinding and polishing the stone, which is why corundums are sometimes appropriately called “Stars of Lapland”. Perhaps the new cultural centre will serve as a kind of artistic grinding machine and create new cultural corundums, pure and polished Stars of Lapland.”
The jury felt that the suggestion perfectly meets the requirements set by the contests. The name is appealing and unique, and cannot be mistaken for the name of some other cultural building. The name is also international, and reflects the jewellery box shape of the concert hall and the entire future colour scheme of the building.
LOGO CONTEST
The Rovaniemi Art Museum and the Lapland Chamber Orchestra initiated a contest for the design of the KORUNDI logo in 2009 immediately after the winner of the naming contest had been selected. The contest was held between the students of the University of Lapland’s Faculty of Art. 28 students submitted a total of 30 suggestions for the contest. The panel of judges unanimously selected student Mika Junna's submission RYTMI (RHYTHM) as the winner.
The panel felt that the design was modern, clear and dynamic. The text-based logo is timeless and can be used in many contexts. The members of the panel also saw opportunities for an animated logo in digital media. The colour also received praise.
A separate colourful logo was designed for art education activities.
The creator of the winning logo, Mika Junna, gave the following grounds for his design:
“The idea was to create a modern, strong and easily distinguishable visual identifier. The basis for the design is a grotesque logotype modified for the purposes of the logo. The rounded and clean shapes are based on traditional template fonts (e.g. Standardograph) used by designers and architects. The word Korundi forms the logotype and the element above it. In other words, the upper element comprises parts of the letters in the word. The logo does not have a single, fixed form, so it can change and evolve with various added captions and text. Thanks to the strong shapes and identifiable colour, the variations of the logo will still maintain coherence. I avoided incorporating shapes pointing to jewels or jewellery into the logo, as they would have taken the connotations too far from a centre of cultural activities. The logo represents rhythm, which is one of the most important elements in art and music. It creates a vibrant and positive image of the facility’s operations. The turquoise colour used in the logo is seen to represent creativity and renewal in colour psychology. The colour is also often present in jewels, which creates a link to the word “korundi”, i.e. corundum. The tone suits the colour scheme of the old post bus depot and the new concert hall.”