BRAND DNA Our brand originated from a base of our own personal experiences connected to moving to a completely new environment which entails a number of issues you might often not be expecting . The most difficult part of the adaptation process is often related to the unfamiliarity with a new language and culture, being separated from your closest friends and family, but the biggest problem of all seems to be a lack of information. We realized, there is no other way out of “the blues” gradually engulfing you, but to motivate yourself to take an action. Sometimes all you need is just a little tip. As it is not long since we ourselves had been in the same situation, we would like to provide student freshers and newcomers with a subjective outlook on what interesting happens in Herning – having regard to all the aspects valid for students, and meeting such terms as financial availability - affordable or free activities, where they can easily get the chance to meet people with similar issues, especially of feeling unfamiliar and lost, in connection to establishing themselves in a new place.
MISSION Our brand’s main objective is to help students help themselves. Instead of “giving a man a fish”, the instant solution, we are providing people with the right tools to help and would then let them solve their problems themselves, because we believe that almost everyone is prone to activation if only given the right stimulus . That is why, as the greatest value to our product, we does not consider only the set of material things we offer, but rather a set of experiences connected to these. And that is what our mission is about. We simply trust that, after all, our product will bring people a healthy dose of self-confidence, because the actual help lies in letting them feel better and happier about themselves because of the effort they undertake.
VISION If we close our eyes, run the imagination and think about what happens next, we see our brand as an obvious answer to the ubiquitous “ feeling - lonely” issue, that affects a large number of young people and is directly connected with living in an era of frequent change of the place of residence, when people are exposed to requirements of an immediate, flexible relocation.
We start from Herning in Denmark, but the ideal would be to expand our brand to other locations as well. Above all, we would like to maintain the open – minded attitude, when it comes to our close collaboration with our recipients and consumers, related to gathering the largest possible amount of informations necessary to ensure our product`s best improvements. We want our brand to become a platform for a creative meeting, where through collaboration between the client and our company, through consultations with specialists and designers, we can in the future more effectively carry expanding our mission large-scale. And no, actually, we do not close our eyes at all. We have got to keep them open wide, since we want to always remain close to the source of the problem and continue to respond rapidly to our customers’ constantly changing needs.
BRAND ID We help people feel good and get more out of life with our services. Our identity expresses Herning Homesickness Healer core values, by conveying a fresh, vigorous, cheerful, but on the other hand logical, well-constructed and smart character of the brand.
SLOGAN
LOOK AROUND... And see what Herning has to offer. Although in the very beginning it might not seem to be the most exciting spot to live in, later on you may find it absolutely adorable as soon as you know where to head to. Our slogan also refers to a people around you. If you only can bring yourself to properly look around, you will find a soul mate without a doubt. The tone of our slogan should always encourage to an action, be an indication. It must never sound like a command or become associated with being patronizing. We often use the LOOK AROUND slogan, together with a completion of the sentence.
LOGO
The ladder constructed from a three capital “ H “ letters on our logo stands for the Herning Homesickness Healer. But look a little closer and you’ll see there’s much more to it. A ladder itself symbolizes a simple tool, designed to help people in a very particular way. It doesn`t do anything in your sted, but it allows you to go up if you can not reach some point yourself and do your job. Or perhaps you might want to get on the top just to LOOK AROUND. Technically, our logo was designed and constructed the way, that allows to simply adjust it with every following annual edition, by swaping the colors on it. However it is very important to ensure that certain conditions are being fulfilled and respected. First of all, to ensure it remains highly visible and prominent within a design, it requires a protective field of an open space around it. The logo should always be surrounded by a clear control area, where no other visual elements may appear. The control area is a border of empty space that is equal to the width of 1/3 height of the ladder symbol. Secondly, the date and typography used within our logotype, must both always appear in the same color, size and be written with our signature font Kalinga. Moreover, the colors used in the ladder symbol must provide the right, balanced distribution of light and shadow.
PICTOGRAMS
Besides the logo, we as well decided to design a smart set of pictograms, where each icon represents an other aspect of our product. From a map symbolising our subjective guide to the city , a cup of coffee, a raincoat, to pink muffins and much more, these little icons all have a certain meaning.
COLORS The colors used within the process of creating our Brand Identity appear not only on the logotype, but also in all the other promotional materials, the packaging and even in the following brand book. We use a bold blend of neon (often with a reduced opacity) and neutral colors. Our packaging was designed in a way to show our eco-conscious approach with the usage of an organic, unbleached and chlorine free paper, that is made out of a wood pulp, and which in its natural state is brown or beige. By combining those neutral shades with intense, neon colors, we get a fresh and extremely eye-catching look. Above that, we also use shades from black and gray scale, that come from applying the halftone filter when black and white photos processed. This procedure is commonly used for printing newspapers, and is intended to limit an amount of ink consumption. Ecologically, isn’t it?
TYPOGRAPHY
The font used in our visual identification system and the rest of marketing and business materials is Kalinga. This particular typeface was chosen because of its neutral, simple and readable form, which ensures the clarity of communications applied.
PRODUCT HERNING HOMESICKNESS HEALER
The inspiration for the Herning Homesickness Healer was based on the idea of what is it like to be a newcomer, to a new environment and perhaps a different country. The kit is designed to be the answer to a question of How can university freshers and newcomers manage to easily find themselves in this particular situation? Our product is a set of different items that one can find usefull when it comes to the search for the way to get rid of the unpleasant feeling of homesickness. The kit contains various products, that are much richer in content than in the form, because despite the fact that these often are rather tiny - they can make a big difference for their users.
POTENTIAL FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
Our kit is designed for the purpose of one academic year, but we plan to develop this idea and continue to issue annual editions. This year’s set is designed for Herning, but we believe that the project could be successful in the other locations as well. Therefore, we plan to operate in other cities in the future, and we are willing to publish the customized versions tailored to the unique atmosphere of each of these.
PACKAGING
Each label and packaging features a unique illustration that changes based on the item. Each and every single packaging is printed with ecologic dye inks, with a concern for the consumption maintained at the minimum possible level. Above that, we took care about an organic packaging to our products – as the principal material we used the ubleached, raw paper and made an advantage out of it, by combining its natural beige color with the neon shades, what emphasize the vibrant character of our brand. Even our logo was designed and constructed the way, that allows easy adjustments with every following annual edition, by swaping the colors on it.
TICKETS LOOK AROUND...
And Step into the world of local cultural events. Together with the representatives from various Herning’s cultural institutions, we prepared a set of free tickets: beginning from museums’ passes, through music concert tickets, up to the invitations for theather plays. And we scheduled all the dates down in the calender, which you will also find attached to your kit, for you, not to forgett about any interesting things happening out there.
RAINCOAT LOOK AROUND...
And if it is raining - Velkommen til Danmark ! ( Welcome to Denmark ! ) Of course it might seem to be so much easier to stay in a good mood if the weather outside is nice. Of course, If you can actually go outside and catch some sun, you often generally feel much more outgoing in a relation with other people. But the rain does not always have to be the reason for you to stay home and an excuse from taking part in an outdoor activities. They say, that there`s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes, so due to provide you with an effective protection from unexpected rainfall, we decided to include a disposable raincoat to your Herning Homesickness Healer kit.
PAPER MUFFIN WRAPS LOOK AROUND...
And try to see if there’s anyone who has the same interests as you do. It gets easier when it comes to making new friends, if you can to do something together. Furthermore, teamwork brings a sense of unity, an enthusiasm for common interests and responsibilities, developed among a group of people closely associated in a task, but most of all - it is a great fun! So if you didn`t manage to find somebody with the similar hobby, surely there are some activities that everybody find enjoyable. We believe one of these things can be baking muffins together. Even if one of you hates the whole culinary process, in the end everyone enjoys eating the sweet treat. We included in our kit, a box with 100 paper muffin liners inside. Go on, Get your hands dirty!
COFFEE VOUCHER LOOK AROUND...
And find a person who you would like to get to know better, and invite him or her to have a nice coffee - chat with you. As we all know, making new friends becomes much easier over a cup of delicious, hot brew, even for those who normally rather stay shy. Therefore, we decided in addition to other items in our kit, to put a voucher for 2 cups of coffee, which can be easily divided into two parts. It allows you to treat yourself along with your new colleague with a delightful beverage.
SUBJECTIVE GUIDE TO HERNING LOOK AROUND...
And see what interesting has Herning to offer. Not each and every newcomer knows, that there are plenty of things to do here, if you only know where to look for. We came up with a subjective map-guide to Herning, knowing which routes are suitable for students. We put many points on the map along with their descriptions and suggestions for an active leisure. And so, for example, very close to the center lies Gødstrup So - the lake with a beach equipped with picnic areas and sun loungers. You will also find a golf course and plenty of parks, and DGI-Huset - sports center with a swimming pool and sauna. And when you already have visited all these spots, suddenly you start wondering that you could not so easily point another equally attractive place to study.
CONTACT - HOME ESSENTIALS LOOK AROUND...
for the nearest post office, because in our kit you will find a stationery, an envelope, and a set of stamps, so you can send a letter to someone who you miss a lot. Maybe in The Golden Age Of The Internet, it is not the easiest way of keeping in touch, but how much more romantic it is to contact somebody that way? And most importantly, instead of writing a curt email, you will have a chance to do something creative. To your letter you can attach a drawing, a photo and even “a piece of your heart and soul”. And if that’s not enough, the kit as well features a starter to your phone with free minutes, so you can call and hear the voice you are longing for.
hannaluberadzka@gmail.com