The covers of the new Norwegian passports. Image via Neue
Having recently ‘digitised’ its bank notes, Norway has once again turned to its designers to create a new design for its passport, resulting in one that changes appearance under UV light.
Designed by the Oslo-based design company Neue, the competition organised by Norway’s National Police Directorate asked for a new design to the country’s passports and national identity card that would carry on for the foreseeable future.
The cover of the passport will no doubt stand out from many other nations’ passports, with its bright pastel colouring that comes in white, turquoise and red which represent immigrants, standard passports and diplomats, respectively.
The inside pages of the new Norway passport design. Image via Neue
Inside, the design appears to contain a retro theme of a typical Norwegian landscape of rocky mountains and deep fjords but when shone under UV light, it transforms into a night-time scene, with the northern lights traversing the sky and a description of the scene on display, that of Geirangerfjord in the south of the country.
The smaller national identity card also features the mountainous landscapes of Norway but on a much more subtle level.
It is now up to the design team and the Norwegian authorities to determine what technology and security measures will be placed behind the award-winning design.
The inside of the new Norway passport as it appears under UV light. Image via Neue
Explaining the design, Gørill Kvamme of Neue said, “All Norwegians are so connected to nature, it’s a very strong part of our history and defines us as a country. It represents the vast variety of nature and landscapes you find in Norway … which makes it relevant to all of us whether you have always lived there or just received your citizenship.”
Only last month, Norway put their bank note design to a public vote with the winning design team, The Metric System, creating a pixelated version of the bank notes, citing the reason for the choice as our times’ “visual language”.
Both the new passports and bank notes are expected to become officially usable from 2017.
