United Paper Mills (Yhtyneet Paperitehtaat Oy) was a Finnish forest industry company created in 1920 and merged with Kymmene in 1996 to form UPM-Kymmene PLC.[1] The company’s visual identity is inseparable from the griffin symbol that today remains the oldest corporate logo used continuously in Finland.[2]
Design and History
The griffin symbol predates United Paper Mills by two decades. In the late 19th century, Kymmene Aktiebolag, one of the predecessors of the present UPM Corporation, needed a distinctive trademark for trade with Russia. The company requested design proposals from two well-known artists, Hugo Simberg and Louis Sparre. Simberg’s griffin illustration won the competition and was purchased by the company in 1899, with the image approved for official use a couple of years later.[2]When United Paper Mills was formed in 1920, it operated as a separate Finnish forest industry company alongside Kymmene.[1] The griffin continued to evolve stylistically over the course of the 20th century.[3] In 1989, graphic designer Esa Ojala modernized the griffin into its current form when the Kymmene Group’s logo was updated.[4]Following the merger of Kymmene Corporation and Repola Ltd. (which included its subsidiary United Paper Mills) in 1996, Ojala designed a new logo for the newly formed UPM-Kymmene Corporation, combining the griffin with the abbreviation “UPM.” This latest version was registered as the official company logo.[4][3]Meaning and Symbolism
The griffin is a mythical beast, half eagle and half lion, with the head and wings of an eagle and the body and tail of a lion. It was a popular heraldic symbol in European tradition.[2] In Finnish, the word for griffin is “aarnikotka,” where “aarni” refers to a large tree or guardian believed to lie on top of treasures hidden in the ground.[5]The griffin was traditionally regarded as the guardian of gold. One probable reason for choosing the mythological animal was its symbolic message: transferred to a northern context, the griffin watched over the “green gold” of the forests.[2] The exact reason Simberg chose the griffin remains a mystery he took to his grave, though the guardian-of-treasures interpretation is widely considered the most likely explanation.[3]Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
