NAPA

We first encountered the germ of the idea for NAPA (The North Adriatic Ports Association) before the Transport Logistic trade fair in 2001 in Munich.

After seeing the creative solution we had prepared for the Port of Koper, with a lighthouse and graphics featuring the names of ports along all the world’s seas, the Port of Trieste, the Port of Monfalcone, and the Port of Rijeka wanted a similar solution. They all had showrooms made of the same material and with similar graphics, differing only as to the primary colour. Since they had rooms inside the exhibition hall in different places, we visually connected them with four lighthouses that stood out due their significant height, and all of them also had red flashing lights at the top. The main communication slogan of all of these ports was “TAKE THE SHORTCUT”, which means that anyone who uses the northern Adriatic route to transport goods will benefit from the shortcut to Central Europe, which is especially true for logistics engineers from the Far East.

In 2013, the ports already connected to NAPA at the time wanted to present themselves again in Munich, only now joined by the Port of Venice.

The main motive for appearing together was to underline the message that the North Adriatic route is much shorter than the northern European route as regards transport through the Suez Canal to reach Central European markets.

The large northern European ports represent the main competition to the northern Adriatic, but if we look at the route through Suez, the northern boat route requires two and a half more days.

The exhibition space – a square-shaped island – was created in such a way that the ports had a common core with a service space (kitchen, cloakroom), outside of which each occupied a dedicated quarter. They were differentiated from each other by means of their typical colours and also by a unique arrangement of the relevant elements. The surfaces of the walls were reminiscent of the structure of shipping containers.

Two years later, in 2015, the ports of the North Adriatic Association wanted to present themselves again in Munich at the Transport Logistic Fair. That time, in the colours of NAPA, yellow and blue, we designed four large gates – portals that emphasized the entrance to the ports in the North Adriatic, i.e. Koper, Venice, Trieste, and Rijeka. An important part of the presentation was a map showing the benefits of the North Adriatic route using infographics.

The positive experiences of the ports employing the services of Imago have led to long-term cooperation, and we continue, up to the present, to cooperate with these ports, especially with the ports of Koper, Trieste, Venice, and Monfalcone (Tržič) on a regular basis. Through these clients, we have also gained contacts with shipowners and ports in other countries (Nova Marine Carriers, Lausanne – Switzerland, UECC – Norway, the Port of Marseille – France, shipowners from China, etc.), with whom we have now been successfully cooperating for many years.

Luka Koper
Port of Rijeka
Port of Trieste
Port of Venice
Lighthouse