What started as a personal search for a family story that didn’t seem to exist turned into a project to find and honor the journeys of hundreds of thousands of displaced Nordic people at the start of WWII.
Voices of Karelia is a nonprofit organization dedicated to collecting, sharing, and preserving stories and content related to the evacuation of 430,000 Finnish Karelians during the Winter War (1939-40)and Continuation War (1941-1944) after the Soviet Union invaded its smaller, peaceful neighbor, thinking Finland would swiftly roll over and give up its independence. Didn’t happen.
The Voices of Karelia identity embraces core elements of Finnish Karelian culture. The moodboards reflect Finnish nature scenes, Karelian patterns, and the Sielulintu, or soul bird, which in Karelian mythology brought babies their souls, watched and protected them throughout their lives, and carried away their souls at death.
Voices of Karelia Moodboards
Icon & Fonts
The sielulintu icon is adapted from the K in the Geotica font and the Voices of Karelia lettering is the Barkentina font.
The Geotica typeface is inspired by geometric forms — much like Karelian patterns and designs — as well as 1920-30s European history. With a respect for the past, it also reflects a modern and optimistic flair.
The Barkentina typeface is elegant and refined with restrained flourish, while embracing a design aesthetic honoring handmade crafts, visual storytelling, and European sensibility. The name Barkentina has roots in seafaring and exploration, with an eye toward personal identity, displacement, and soulful, even melancholic, remembrance
Color Palette & Symbolism
Forest Hope (Green): Abundant woodlands, renewal, optimism
Healing Waters (Blue): Cleansing, calm strength, Finnish flag, tranquility
Crowned Lion (Gold): Finnish lion, harvest, Karelian crafts, enlightenment, wisdom
Sacrificial Struggle (Crimson Red): Blood, intense pride, Karelian embroidery, conflict, passion
Lost Land (Black): Mourning, loss, soil, depth, melancholy, serious
Enduring Granite (Gray): Rocky terrain, gravestones, churches, fortresses, birch bark, longing, smoke and ashes, ascension and memory
Silent Snow (White): Peace, calm, clarity, winter, Finnish flag, humility
With the brand identity in place, Voices of Karelia took its next step toward becoming a formal initiative and provided the foundations for the website layout and design.
