The Finnish Tax Administration

An example of an AI solution: the whole of Finland in one landscape

The Finnish Tax Administration (Verohallinto) used artificial intelligence to create captivating landscape images to represent the entire country.
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Avidly is a global digital marketing agency specialized in growing the brands of tomorrow
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The Finnish Tax Administration's team is currently working on revamping the vero.fi website (Vero, meaning tax in Finnish). With a strong emphasis on providing user-friendly services, the team aims to enhance the website's layout, content, and functionalities to ensure improved usability.

The primary mission of the Tax Administration and its website is to cater to the needs of the entire Finnish population. The hero-area images displayed on the main Vero.fi website are carefully chosen to convey the extensive reach of their services throughout Finland, all year round. The team specifically opted for stunning Finnish landscapes as the focal point of these images, showcasing the various infrastructure and services that are made possible with Finnish tax euros.

However, there was a crucial challenge: How can the Finnish Tax Administration create a view that resonates with every individual living in Finland, from the Southern Archipelago to Northern Lapland? They strive to capture a landscape that successfully represents the entirety of Finland, rather than being tied to a specific location or landmark.

 

Content as diverse as Finland

The Vero.fi and Avidly teams took on the challenge during a collaborative design workshop. Together, they developed a collection of three AI-generated images showcasing the captivating Finnish landscape.

"We carefully aligned these images with the three main pages of vero.fi, incorporating elements that represent a functional and modern society, such as bridges and schools. Additionally, we included subtle hints of ploughed roads and prosperous individuals, along with a celebration of diversity and the beauty of nature," explains Erno Bärlund, Avidly's Creative Lead.

But that's not all. The teams also decided to create versions of these landscape images that highlight the four distinct seasons in Finland. This addition will enable vero.fi to be regularly updated to reflect autumn, winter, spring, and summer. The dynamic changing of seasons on the website serves as a visual aid for customers, guiding them in managing their tax affairs efficiently and effectively.

We put artificial intelligence to work

The use of AI in the construction of the landscape images enabled not only the optimal realisation of the creative idea, but also the cost-effective production of the images. 

- For us, it is important to use tax money responsibly, and instead of having outdoor photos taken in different places at different times of the year, we now have a cost-effective solution," says Anu Mujunen, Communications Manager at vero.fi.

- The possibilities created by artificial intelligence are enormous. With traditional methods alone, such a project would have taken 1.5 years to start before the images were published, but now the images were created in a short time, regardless of the weather. The desired end result required a rational process and the use of multiple AI software. The collaboration was seamless," says Antti Karppinen, Avidly's AI imaging partner and international award-winning photographer.  

- Initially, we sketched three alternative visual approaches and together with the team at vero.fin, we chose the style to be implemented. Then, using AI technology, we worked on rough versions of the three different landscapes, defining the landscape themes and concrete elements," says Bärlund. 

- Once the raw versions of the images were ready, we added details and corrected the compositions of the images using traditional image processing. Karppinen then rebuilt the image elements using various AI technologies. We then created seasonal versions, to which we added details. In the final step, we scaled the images and finalised the tonal range and details in image processing.  

The Tax Administration has been an Avidly client since 2022, and consulting on the redesign of Vero.fi is part of the strategic communications partnership. Vero.fi's new look will be launched during spring 2024.

For more information:
The Finnish Tax Administration: Anu Mujunen, Communications Manager, vero.fi, +358 40 6736 036
Avidly: Maria Sjövik, Account Director, +358 40 831 0191.

Avidly
Avidly is a global digital marketing agency specialized in growing the brands of tomorrow