Transylvania World’s main brand identity is made up of the conceptual brand story, its visual identity and its slogan.
It is important to mention that on a global level, 96% of the foreigners who show interest in Transylvania do not know the location of this territory and 4% of them ask if Transylvania is real or just a mystic virtual world. That being said, a first conclusion for the results of the association’s conceptual research was that the first and most important activity for developing a Transylvanian brand was to define and cast concepts which all-together make up the brand’s story.
A second mention is the fact that the status for the term „Transylvania”, as shown in the brand elements introduction, represents actuality for Romanians but for foreigners it represents a cinematography product, branded over the course of a century, and only recently (in the last 20 years) a touristic product.
As such, after research and after developing conclusions, we established that we need to define (at an international level) a series of concepts, merged into two categories: realistic concepts and fantastic, mythological concepts.
First we defined „Transylvania World” from a geographical-etymological point of view (not political and administrative), an extended Transylvanian territory, where its influences are felt beyond the Sub-Carpahtian mountains. We tried to categorize Transylvania into three areas, taking into account different factors and then we defined the Carpathian Mountains. We also included Cucuteni Civilization (the oldest European civilization) alongside the realistic concepts for ancient Dacians and Vlad the Impaler. The traditional Transylvanian village and the traditional Romanian household wrap up the series of realistic concepts and pave the way for the the present day.
Secondly we took care of the fantastic concepts related to Transylvania, starting from the presentation of the Dacian mythology. We edited the concepts for the werewolf, the vampire and the fantastic character Dracula.
On one hand the concepts respect the historical chronology, cover the antiquity period, the medieval period and also the modern period, as much as they can while still remaining interesting for foreigners, they present the unique natural and traditional Romanian setting and on the other hand they differentiate between reality and fantasy without affecting the global brand character of some terms.
Together, the concepts developed by the association determine Transylvania’s brand story. In short, they provide the link between reality and mystic, keeping the historical truth in plain sight.
With research as our basis and after releasing the concepts which sum up the story of Transylvania World we defined the isotype and the full logo of the brand.
1. THE ISOTYPE
The tower
Tower – location, geographical definition, Transylvania;
Medieval Tower – general history, medieval period, castles, ramparts and fortified churches from Transylvania, Vlad the Impaler’s reign;
Tower + shield – the unique brand concepts which brings together in unity all the concepts and sub-concepts;
The shield
Tower + shield – the unique brand concepts which brings together in unity all the concepts and sub-concepts;
Shield – general history, medieval times, protection, defense – Vlad the Impaler’s role – defender of Europe;
„Draco”, the Dacian battle flag (wolf + dragon)
Dacian ancient symbol - the link between history and fiction through Dacian mythology
The Wolf – mystical setting, cult status for the Dacian mythology, connected to the fantastic concept of the werewolf spawned from the Legend of the Great White Wolf (a human Zalmoxis transformed into a divine protector wolf), real life status of the wolf – free roaming today the Carpathian forests, touristic element;
Dragonul - The Dragon – mystic setting, the link between Dacian mythology and the Order of the Dragon (Vlad the Impaler being a member of the Order), the link with Dracula, the fantastic character;
The Sun
Light, holiness, positive character, truth, historical truth. In contrast with the full moon and the total darkness surrounding any fantastic-horror movie setting associated with Transylvania, the Sun (as appearing in the logo) changes the entire perception when seen for the first time as part of the Transylvania World logo.
The Sun’s rays
The Sun’s continuity within the sky, fractals, immortality, preserving the traditions, positive image, divine;
Colors
Brown – wood, stone, the tree bark from the woods, forest roads, history, rural, traditional, the color of the brown bear (which is free-roaming the Carpathian Mountain range), natural, organic, hand-made traditional;
Red and yellow as part of the Sun, blue as the color of the sky – the Romanian flag and the resulting symbolism.
Why did we avoid the color green? Green would represent the setting dominated by large forests and that is usually associated with environmental protection or ecology. These elements would stand out considering the whole conceptual branch of the brand; if that were to happen, the change of focus and perception towards ecology, would keep people from seeing the historical symbolism alongside the traditional symbolism found in the logo. In conformity with Transylvania World’s mission, the colors found in the logo are all relevant and allow another color if necessary.
2. THE LOGO
The logo consists of the isotype described above and the text "Transylvania World". Transylvania World is both the brand name and the name of the association that manages it. Given that we are addressing international consumers, for better understanding and better promotion, the text within the logo will be used in English, regardless of which country promotes it.
"Transylvania World" is more than a geographical name. By attaching the word "World" to "Transylvania", we present a world, a realm with all its history, culture, heritage and traditions and all traditional products and services related to this region. The term "World" perfectly combines reality and fiction, being able to attract both the interest of history, culture, and traditions buffs as well as those passionate about the mystical and fantastic concepts related to vampires, werewolves, Dracula and everything which stands for gothic-fantasy. Bringing together the interests of both categories, we increase the capacity for global promotion and brand awareness on one hand and on the other hand we can more easily provide explanations for those who do not know the difference between fiction and reality, and correct the negative way in which Transylvania and Vlad the Impaler (symbols of Romania) were portrayed up to date, mainly due to the movies depicting them.
The logo shown here is the logo for the main brand. We will follow by deriving brand logos from it, in order to be used for categories of products and services that will by licensed by the Transylvania World Association.