Social Democratic Youths Unite
Established in 1917, the Sveriges Socialdemokratiska Ungdomsförbund (SSU for short and Swedish Social Democratic Youth League in English) is, as its name implies, an organization comprised of over 10,000 young citizen members supporting Sweden's Swedish Social Democratic Party. This past September 14, General elections were held in Sweden where said party won after playing the opposition for eight years — a title given to the largest party not in government, as opposed to them being some kind of militia or Anonymous-like org. (Just thought it would be good to clear up that "opposition" moniker). In 2013, Stockholm-based Snask began working with SSU to create a unified identity to gear up for this election.
We translated the SSU brand platform into a spanking new graphic identity. The identity was launched a few month's before the start of the swedish general election campaign, enabling all proud members the right tools to create communications material. Most importantly, we unified all members of SSU under one brand and one coherent graphic identity. The identity has so far been used in tv-adverts, by members in the pride parade, in printed campaign material and in thousands of campaign activities all over Sweden. SSU's mother party the Social Democrats won the government election of 2014 after eight years in opposition.
Snask project page
Logo detail.The ribbon is thought as something with a political feel where ribbons have always been linked to statements. Ribbons have also been frequently used in celebrations and SSU stands for celebrating freedom and equality for everyone.
Provided answer asking about why a ribbon?
Logo detail with full name. Logo extensions.The previous logo looked almost like an American collegiate sports conference monogram, one of those endlessly italicized acronyms and, even in that realm, it wasn't particularly good. The new acronym sitting on a red ribbon certainly feels more stately and there is something interesting about using such a basic graphic device which most designers avoid for that very reason. It's almost too original in its unoriginality. If that makes any sense. It's obviously the application that makes this logo work, though.
Identity elements.Various identity materials. Posters. They read: 1) "Together we can make a change, join SSU!", 2) "Do you want your own apartment?", and 3) "Do we want the best school?". One of the dioramas for the poster. (If you haven't seen Snask's work, they excel at making physical things for their projects). Balloons and boxes. Young people. Stefan Löfven, Prime Minister-designate, with his SSU supporters. Flag.
The full-on red color palette, the rough and condensed sans serif, and the deadpan execution give the identity a very energetic and confident presence and — although I kind of hate this term but here it applies like textbook — having passionate brand ambassadors, all working voluntarily for the same cause gives this kind of work an additional boost of relevance and appropriateness.