Nils-Petter Ekwall was commissioned by the Cultural Department of Halmstad Municipality (Halmstads Kommuns Kulturförvaltning) to visualize its "Vision House" project metaphor and transform a rather uninspiring block diagram into a stunningly detailed floor plan illustration. This new visual would serve as a more effective guiding tool and aid in staff discussions, uniting and inspiring them around shared goals.
Halmstad is located on Sweden’s west coast and is known for its historic charm, beach life, and leisure activities. The Cultural Department provides a range of services for residents, including libraries, the municipal art museum, theater, music programs, youth centers, and public art.
The client envisioned a metaphor of an office building where each floor represents the organization's core values: from the ground up—“Values,” “Core Tasks,” “Goals,” and “Quality”—all topped with an arrow-shaped roof symbolizing the department’s “Vision.” Inside, the client wanted to show a lot of creative teamwork, energy flowing dynamically, people sharing ideas, information, and inspiration moving freely between floors. A lot of details – but also a good spark for discussions and engagement from the audience – when zooming in on each floor plan.
To give the illustration a very specific Halmstad setting – Nils-Petter added a backdrop landscape featuring important landmarks like Halmstad Castle, Halmstad Port, Sankt Nikolai Church, (Sankt Nikolai Kyrka) Immanuel Church (Immanuelskyrkan) the iconic beach and surrounding nature. (And in the lower right corner, a little nod to residents' favorite activity of all - golfing.)
Client: Cultural Department of Halmstad Municipality / Halmstads kommuns Kulturförvaltning Project Leads: Kristina Alves Gernes and Lena From Illustrator / illustratör: Nils-Petter Ekwall
"A lot of details – but also a good spark for discussions and engagement from the audience – when zooming in on each floor plan."
The initial block diagram
