Dutch Police Force
Client
The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Project
Initiated in 1992, completed in 1993. Studio Dumbar created a visual identity including: trademark, house style, 2-D and 3-D applications, corporate identity manual, fashion.
Outcome
The visual identity developed for the Dutch police force merges the spirit of two previously autonomous police organizations – namely, the state and municipal corps – and the interest of the public, embodying all three in a single word-image, or trademark.
The flame symbol can be seen as a beacon, or protective flame. This is combined with a law book-like form. The resulting graphic element has proven capable of standing on its own; it is immediately recognized as representing the Dutch police. Studio Dumbar’s design for the Dutch police force is a radical departure from the 8-point Bathstar universally associated with police forces. However, the graphic symbol combined with the word ‘politie’ succeeds in creating a universal – and uncommonly exclusive (read: copyright protected) – trademark.