New logo for next chapter of EFTA sister organisations

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA), the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA), and the Financial Mechanism Office (FMO, which manages the EEA & Norway Grants) are moving together to a new office building in Brussels – EFTA House.

The new seven-storey building on the corner of Avenue des Arts and Rue Joseph II will have a unified logo, visualising synergies of the three organisations. It is also believed that the new visual identity will help to establish and promote EFTA House as a landmark in the Brussels European Quarter.

The new logo is the result of a logo competition that EFTA, ESA, and the FMO launched among young talents in the graphic design field in the EFTA Member States. Find out more about the logo competition here.

After receiving 25 eligible proposals, the Steering Committee of the new building unanimously selected a logo from Daniel Gassner from Liechtenstein, a graduate in marketing from the University of Innsbruck. He will receive a prize of EUR 1 000 and a VIP trip to Brussels once EFTA House formally opens (date not set, due to COVID-restrictions).

Trust and loyalty – Together in one place

In his proposal, Daniel Gassner uses blue tones “because blue stands for trust and loyalty. Moreover, the colour represents honesty, reliability, and responsibility,” as described in the winning proposal. With these shades as a starting point, Gassner developed the following rationale for the logo:

“EFTA, ESA, and FMO are represented by the illustration of three separate blue houses. The overlapping area in the logo illustrates the organisations coming together in one place. Furthermore, the resulting darker area in the centre may also show synergies arising from this collaboration and exchange of knowledge.”

The three organisations have quite different visual identities, which will all remain so for their individual purposes. Daniel Gassner says he experimented with different colours and shapes in the challenging creation of one unified logo for EFTA House.

“It really means a lot to me that my logo was chosen for EFTA House. I am extremely happy to contribute a small part to this new building which has great potential,” Daniel Gassner said.

New address:

EFTA Secretariat

Avenue des Arts 19H

1000 Brussels