Responses by Arnold.

Background: This project aims to reposition luxury cruise company Norwegian Cruise Line by shifting the focus away from ship features and amenities toward the emotional benefit of true freedom and ease. It reclaims the brand’s core idea—It’s Different Out Here—by contrasting the rigidity of traditional cruising with a more liberating, human-centered experience. The campaign targets seasoned cruisers and premium families who feel overwhelmed by overplanning, appealing to those seeking a more effortless, present and spontaneous way to vacation.

Design thinking: We purposefully built the design system to veer away from the category’s sea of sameness. Avoiding the tropes of busy, action-filled shots and showcasing ships, we designed the layouts to give the viewer a sense of exhalation, using a monochromatic color palette, varied only by specific regions (Alaska, the Caribbean and Europe), to declutter the elements.

We replicated the wave element from the Norwegian Cruise Line logo within the system to bring fluidity to an otherwise rigid structure. At the same time, we broke apart the logo and wordmark lockup to create air and space; this lets them float more purposefully in the layout without heaviness or loudness.

Challenges: The entire cruise industry is about spectacle, waging an all-out battle over hardware. Brighter waterslides. Taller climbing walls. Bigger ships. We had to convince the clients to avoid those tropes and lean into emotion, which meant they’d have to abandon using the same imagery as their competitors. This meant walking away from steel and plastic and leaning into heartware.

Favorite details: Rebranding an organization of this size is a monumental undertaking. Doing it in two months—from concept to execution—is unheard of. It takes commitment on all sides.

Visual influences: To be honest, the competitors influenced the solution the most. Across the board, their imagery is loud, overly vibrant, high-contrast and plastic-feeling. So, our artwork aimed to be the opposite: open, elevated and airy, using skies and oceans as negative space.

Specific project demands: It proved challenging to marry the tones of the skies and water to the color blocks in each layout. Typical photography of the Caribbean shows bright blue skies and electric turquoise water, but we wanted to establish a more elevated look and feel. This required a treatment that wasn’t the stereotypical and often-alluring color palette.

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