Full brand creation
Full brand creation
Full brand creation
Probably the hardest thing I did - Creating Nordika
Probably the hardest thing I did - Creating Nordika
Services
Services
Services
Everything
Everything
Year
Year
Year
2022-today
2022-today
2022-today
Overview
Overview
Overview
How do you even brand an agency? Should you be mainstream and put a lightbulb as a logo to show your creativity? Of course not. The real creativity comes from simplicity and showing your true self, your emotions, your ideas, your mind… and after spending a century on how I should brand my agency (That I dreamed so much about) I ended up with this guy, Rudolf Nordikus, the Swedish reindeer toy I got from my girlfriend, and that was it… my inspiration to build a full visual identity and branding came from a teddy toy
How do you even brand an agency? Should you be mainstream and put a lightbulb as a logo to show your creativity? Of course not. The real creativity comes from simplicity and showing your true self, your emotions, your ideas, your mind… and after spending a century on how I should brand my agency (That I dreamed so much about) I ended up with this guy, Rudolf Nordikus, the Swedish reindeer toy I got from my girlfriend, and that was it… my inspiration to build a full visual identity and branding came from a teddy toy
Challenge
Challenge
“How do you even brand an agency? Seriously. Nobody tells you this part. You can watch 200 hours of YouTube gurus, scroll through 10,000 Behance projects, and stare at your blank Figma file until the pixels start whispering. And in the end, you still don’t know if your logo should be a lightbulb, a triangle, or some mysterious geometric shape that looks deep but means absolutely nothing.
Branding an agency is one of those things that sounds easy until you actually have to do it. You want it to feel professional, but also personal. Creative and fun but not cringe. Unique, but not weird-for-the-sake-of-weird. It’s much easier when you don’t have many options. Imagine yourself in a restaurant with 1,000 things on the menu, you will spend hours choosing.
“How do you even brand an agency? Seriously. Nobody tells you this part. You can watch 200 hours of YouTube gurus, scroll through 10,000 Behance projects, and stare at your blank Figma file until the pixels start whispering. And in the end, you still don’t know if your logo should be a lightbulb, a triangle, or some mysterious geometric shape that looks deep but means absolutely nothing.
Branding an agency is one of those things that sounds easy until you actually have to do it. You want it to feel professional, but also personal. Creative and fun but not cringe. Unique, but not weird-for-the-sake-of-weird. It’s much easier when you don’t have many options. Imagine yourself in a restaurant with 1,000 things on the menu, you will spend hours choosing.
Realization
Realization
The name of the company came more or less easily. I knew that it needed to be “international”, and that people can pronounce it well, no matter where they are from. I like the idea of having the letter “k” in its name and to end with letter "a", as it’s powerful when you say it. The next step was meaning and symbolism. I love snow, mountain and I’ve worked a lot with Swedish clients, and once while I was speaking with my sister, it came naturally: Nordika, she liked it, and it was a perfect fit.
And then the hard part, designing the logo, developing the visual identity and overall branding…
After overthinking it for what felt like a century, trying every possible direction, every color palette, every clever symbolism… nothing felt right.
One day, while I was drowning in brand ideas that all felt forced, I looked across the room and saw something familiar: a small, soft, slightly goofy-looking Swedish reindeer toy sitting on my shelf.
His name: Rudolf Nordikus.
A gift from my girlfriend.
No design theory. No deep philosophical meaning. Just a teddy toy with charm from Sweden. And suddenly, something clicked.
This little reindeer felt more authentic and more “my brand” than anything else.
Why?
He was simple, friendly, warm, a little funny, and cool.
Exactly what I represent and what I wanted my agency to be.
The name of the company came more or less easily. I knew that it needed to be “international”, and that people can pronounce it well, no matter where they are from. I like the idea of having the letter “k” in its name and to end with letter "a", as it’s powerful when you say it. The next step was meaning and symbolism. I love snow, mountain and I’ve worked a lot with Swedish clients, and once while I was speaking with my sister, it came naturally: Nordika, she liked it, and it was a perfect fit.
And then the hard part, designing the logo, developing the visual identity and overall branding…
After overthinking it for what felt like a century, trying every possible direction, every color palette, every clever symbolism… nothing felt right.
One day, while I was drowning in brand ideas that all felt forced, I looked across the room and saw something familiar: a small, soft, slightly goofy-looking Swedish reindeer toy sitting on my shelf.
His name: Rudolf Nordikus.
A gift from my girlfriend.
No design theory. No deep philosophical meaning. Just a teddy toy with charm from Sweden. And suddenly, something clicked.
This little reindeer felt more authentic and more “my brand” than anything else.
Why?
He was simple, friendly, warm, a little funny, and cool.
Exactly what I represent and what I wanted my agency to be.
Execution
Execution
Rudolf Nordikus became the spark.
The entire visual identity started forming around him:
Fun-inspired color palette
Rudolf Nordikus became the spark.
The entire visual identity started forming around him:
Fun-inspired color palette
Clean typography
Sequel sans - italic and yellow green background for highlightsSequel sans - regular for everything else
Clean typography
Sequel sans - italic and yellow green background for highlightsSequel sans - regular for everything else
Minimal shapes, gentle curves, and a bold logo inspired by the silhouette of the reindeer
Minimal shapes, gentle curves, and a bold logo inspired by the silhouette of the reindeer
Matching typography for the logo
Matching typography for the logo
Developing brand assets from the logo (characters, stickers, branded T-shirts, notebooks, etc.)
Developing brand assets from the logo (characters, stickers, branded T-shirts, notebooks, etc.)
The next step was creating a website:
The next step was creating a website:
Conclusion
Conclusion
In the end, the whole Nordika brand came from something simple and honest. A small Swedish reindeer toy that felt more “me” than any logo concept I tried to force. Once I followed that feeling, everything else naturally clicked: the colors, the typography, the shapes, the whole vibe of the agency.
But finishing a brand doesn’t mean you’re done. It’s actually the beginning.
Running an agency is like raising a baby… you take care of everything, every single day. Accounting, clients, strategy, sales… all of it lands on your shoulders.
After almost four years, I’m still proud of what I built. But I also feel something else: a desire to create something new again, this time with a team. Because building alone is fine, but building with people hits differently.
Nordika exists because of me, but also because of the people around me…my friends, my girlfriend, and my family. Their feedback and support shaped the brand just as much as my design work did.
So yes, the dream of the kid below became a reality, but I guess I still have more dreams to chase.
In the end, the whole Nordika brand came from something simple and honest. A small Swedish reindeer toy that felt more “me” than any logo concept I tried to force. Once I followed that feeling, everything else naturally clicked: the colors, the typography, the shapes, the whole vibe of the agency.
But finishing a brand doesn’t mean you’re done. It’s actually the beginning.
Running an agency is like raising a baby… you take care of everything, every single day. Accounting, clients, strategy, sales… all of it lands on your shoulders.
After almost four years, I’m still proud of what I built. But I also feel something else: a desire to create something new again, this time with a team. Because building alone is fine, but building with people hits differently.
Nordika exists because of me, but also because of the people around me…my friends, my girlfriend, and my family. Their feedback and support shaped the brand just as much as my design work did.
So yes, the dream of the kid below became a reality, but I guess I still have more dreams to chase.
Challenge
“How do you even brand an agency? Seriously. Nobody tells you this part. You can watch 200 hours of YouTube gurus, scroll through 10,000 Behance projects, and stare at your blank Figma file until the pixels start whispering. And in the end, you still don’t know if your logo should be a lightbulb, a triangle, or some mysterious geometric shape that looks deep but means absolutely nothing.
Branding an agency is one of those things that sounds easy until you actually have to do it. You want it to feel professional, but also personal. Creative and fun but not cringe. Unique, but not weird-for-the-sake-of-weird. It’s much easier when you don’t have many options. Imagine yourself in a restaurant with 1,000 things on the menu, you will spend hours choosing.
Realization
The name of the company came more or less easily. I knew that it needed to be “international”, and that people can pronounce it well, no matter where they are from. I like the idea of having the letter “k” in its name and to end with letter "a", as it’s powerful when you say it. The next step was meaning and symbolism. I love snow, mountain and I’ve worked a lot with Swedish clients, and once while I was speaking with my sister, it came naturally: Nordika, she liked it, and it was a perfect fit.
And then the hard part, designing the logo, developing the visual identity and overall branding…
After overthinking it for what felt like a century, trying every possible direction, every color palette, every clever symbolism… nothing felt right.
One day, while I was drowning in brand ideas that all felt forced, I looked across the room and saw something familiar: a small, soft, slightly goofy-looking Swedish reindeer toy sitting on my shelf.
His name: Rudolf Nordikus.
A gift from my girlfriend.
No design theory. No deep philosophical meaning. Just a teddy toy with charm from Sweden. And suddenly, something clicked.
This little reindeer felt more authentic and more “my brand” than anything else.
Why?
He was simple, friendly, warm, a little funny, and cool.
Exactly what I represent and what I wanted my agency to be.
Execution
Rudolf Nordikus became the spark.
The entire visual identity started forming around him:
Fun-inspired color palette
Clean typography
Sequel sans - italic and yellow green background for highlightsSequel sans - regular for everything else
Minimal shapes, gentle curves, and a bold logo inspired by the silhouette of the reindeer
Matching typography for the logo
Developing brand assets from logo (characters,3D elements, stickers, branded T-shirts, notebooks, etc.)
The next step was creating a website:
Conclusion
In the end, the whole Nordika brand came from something simple and honest. A small Swedish reindeer toy that felt more “me” than any logo concept I tried to force. Once I followed that feeling, everything else naturally clicked: the colors, the typography, the shapes, the whole vibe of the agency.
But finishing a brand doesn’t mean you’re done. It’s actually the beginning.
Running an agency is like raising a baby… you take care of everything, every single day. Accounting, clients, strategy, sales… all of it lands on your shoulders.
After almost four years, I’m still proud of what I built. But I also feel something else: a desire to create something new again, this time with a team. Because building alone is fine, but building with people hits differently.
Nordika exists because of me, but also because of the people around me…my friends, my girlfriend, and my family. Their feedback and support shaped the brand just as much as my design work did.
So yes, the dream of the kid below became a reality, but I guess I still have more dreams to chase.
Other projects
Other projects
Almost a startup - Feesless Web App
Almost a startup - Feesless Web App
After winning the Greenback Hackathon, we tried turning our idea into a real product. It didn’t succeed, but here is the full story
After winning the Greenback Hackathon, we tried turning our idea into a real product. It didn’t succeed, but here is the full story
From 0 to 100 to support my dad
From 0 to 100 to support my dad
I created my dad’s brand completely from scratch. The logo, visual identity, copy, website, development, and all advertising.
I created my dad’s brand completely from scratch. The logo, visual identity, copy, website, development, and all advertising.
Designing Data for some big names
Designing Data for some big names
Through Nordika and past work in UX and data visualization, I built dashboards for global brands like DHL, Vodafone, Scandic, and more.
Through Nordika and past work in UX and data visualization, I built dashboards for global brands like DHL, Vodafone, Scandic, and more.
Through Nordika and past work in UX and data visualization, I built dashboards for global brands like DHL, Vodafone, Scandic…
Want to collaborate?
Want to collaborate?
Whether it’s designing something bold, sharing a beer, or exploring a new corner of the world, I’m ready. Drop me a message at info@dejanzonjic.com, and let’s create something amazing!
Whether it’s designing something bold, sharing a beer, or exploring a new corner of the world, I’m ready. Drop me a message at info@dejanzonjic.com, and let’s create something amazing!
Do better
every day
Do better
every day
Do better
every day
Do better
every day