How Barkas brought the Danish National Film School into a new era with a fresh yet faithful look

Since it was founded in 1966 by film director and theorist Theodore Christensen, the Danish National Film School has maintained its legacy as a globally recognised film school. With notable alumni including film director Lars von Trier and filmmaker Susanne Bier, among many others, the Danish school has attracted aspiring directors, scriptwriters, editors, sound designers and cinematographers for over 50 years. In 2022 however, it was time to rethink the brand strategy – how could the film school present itself in a way that retains its DNA, whilst bringing it into a new and more open era? As an independent creative company, Barkas (located in both Stockholm and Copenhagen) understood the need to create a welcoming image for all audiences – both Danish and international. “Historically, the school has been closed off and is almost a mythical place in Copenhagen, with a very limited number of students and rigorous admission enquiries,” Founder & Creative Director Mike Wittrup explains. In fact, the school only has 96 students. “With the new strategy,” he continues, “the school is opening to the public with events, a film club curated by students, masterclasses and much more. We strived to make an identity system that is flexible enough to contain all of those needs while staying true to the curious spirit of the school.” Barkas have introduced a colourful new direction, symbolising this diverse new era. It embraces flexibility with a bilingual modular system, providing endless compositions within one frame. To accommodate this, the typographic direction was intentionally straightforward, for the sake of legibility and versatility. “To keep things simple and easy to work with we use one typography and one weight,” Wittrup tells us.