Fi - The Interactive Firm: OLF

The nexus of this project mirrored our standard agency-to-agency process, with Kitchen contacting Fi to co-create a site for each of Norway's 5 million citizens to share how oil has affected their lives, and their country socioeconomically. Building a site free of advertising with the sole focus on user experience is a rare opportunity, and an exciting proposition.

Identifying a visual and experiential balance between both oil and natural gas demanded a combination of light and airy, with substance. After exploring several possible options, the team decided on merging a drop of oil with the concept of micro-blogging to create "blopping."

To capture the appropriate feel, our designers experimented in the kitchen with cooking oil to understand its' texture and behavior. Complementing the movement, we selected a secondary color palette. Once the visual concept was solidified, the team created a site structure featuring five different categories, all related to the 40th anniversary and the number 40.

The scope was grandiose – there is an available bubble for each Norwegian, organized by date of birth, city and gender. Putting the site into action, the user enters their information and is then presented with an available bubble. Once their story has been added to the "universe", the user engages with a frontend featuring 3D field of "Blops", which can be browsed directly, or explored through an advanced search engine.

The riches gained through oil and natural gas has funded Norway's education and health care; thus, the 40th anniversary of this lucrative industry was one OLF could not pass up.

Exposure

Within a week of launch, the site was showcased in a five-minute prime-time segment on Norway's largest TV-channel, NRK , garnering extensive exposure. Capping off a successful campaign, Oljenorge 40år has since been nominated to Gulltaggen , which is Norway's biggest advertising award.