New Brand & Branding for Hometree by How&How — BP&O

It’s all effectively and good for a design company to make some wild, boundary-pushing, all-singing all-dancing work for issues like Gen Z healthcare merchandise; or ‘prime shelf’ spirits; or craft beer. However most consumer initiatives aren’t going to be the form of factor that deserves vibrant orange and typography that dances across the boundaries of legibility. And arguably, it’s these much less ‘showy’ initiatives that require probably the most creatively dextrous approaches.

Among the many issues that prime the record of ‘not all that fascinating’ are insurance coverage and drainage; whereas ‘low-carbon residence vitality {hardware}’ has the double whammy of not solely sounding barely boring and slightly complicated, however reminding us of the doom of local weather disaster, and probably inducing our personal anxieties about not ‘doing our bit’ as a lot as we might – be that via monetary constraints, an absence of time and vitality to ponder issues like boilers, or as a result of we don’t actually perceive what we might do otherwise, or how.

Hometree is a model that specialises in the entire above, making it one thing of a double-edged sword for design company How&How, which not too long ago labored on its new model identification.

There are a selection of challenges inherent to a undertaking like this: you possibly can’t go too wacky and out-there, because it’s simply not likely an applicable route; but the model must be elevated as far-off as potential from perceptions round it being boring or complicated. And on the latter level, the designs have an important position in explaining processes and merchandise that to many people, appear intimidatingly complicated.

Launched round eight years in the past, Hometree presents insurance coverage round residence emergencies corresponding to points with boilers and central heating; plumbing and drainage; residence electrics; pest management and residential safety. How&How, which has studios in London and Lisbon, was introduced in to assist the corporate’s growth into serving to folks decrease their carbon dioxide emissions, helping them with the set up, financing, upkeep and insurance coverage for his or her transitions to decrease carbon options like warmth pumps, photo voltaic panels, and batteries.

How&How’s work comprised model technique, narrative and structure; creating a brand new verbal and visible identification, tone of voice, UX technique, web site design and a set of illustrated icons and animations. ‘The house companies trade is a fancy ecosystem to navigate,’ says How&How. ‘Hometree got here to us with a spread of latest companies that assist assist the total vitality lifecycle within the residence and make the swap to renewables much less daunting. Additionally they wanted new branding to replicate their future-focused enterprise mission: to make the transition to internet zero houses seamless and reasonably priced.’

The studio got here up with the model thought ‘Transition Companion’ to information the brand new designs; with the identification work based mostly across the thought of partnership and centring Hometree because the calm and reassuring alternative that empowers owners on their journey to transitioning to decrease carbon dwelling.

The place the previous brand used an summary swirl to signify the tree of the model’s identify, the brand new mark is a extra outlined form that’s nonetheless figurative, however actually extra recognisably ‘tree’. How&How says that the emblem additionally performs one other position as an ‘interactive assistant’ named Maple.

In line with the studio, Maple ‘connects you to your property companies wants and helps you progress ahead in the direction of a inexperienced vitality transition’. It takes a kind that ‘feels each grounded and alive in development’.

Whereas the brand new brand is certainly an enchancment on the previous branding, and we love the geometric tackle Matisse-ish cut-out shapes that seem throughout the visible identification, the entire Maple factor is just a little unclear. On the Hometree web site, a minimum of, there’s little to counsel its position as an assistant: the emblem simply sits slightly small within the prime left-hand nook.

The intense, breezy new color palette, nevertheless, works brilliantly: it’s neither too po-faced nor too wild. The colors make the model really feel reassuring and energetic, centring on a recent, vibrant yellow with different shades of yellow and inexperienced as supporting colors, completed off with good contrasting purple accents.

The brand new wordmark is once more an enchancment on the previous designs, utilizing a sans serif with distinctly open counters and a mix of rounded corners and sharper strains, properly reflecting the types of the shapes that run all through the brand new branding, corresponding to within the redrawn tree machine.

The wordmark is supported by headline font Elza Condensed from São Paulo-based foundry Blackletra, which strikes a pleasant steadiness between boldness and zeitgeisty modernity, and no-nonsense communication. Physique copy on the Hometree web site makes use of Instrument Sans by Rodrigo Fuenzalida and Jordan Egstad.

The brand new tone of voice and verbal identification strikes an ideal steadiness between openness and never making an attempt to be too irritatingly chummy (a development in model copy we sincerely really feel is on the best way out) aiming to ‘create belief via fact’, it feels gently authoritative and easy, which is strictly what’s wanted with an organization coping with issues like insuring in opposition to home-based emergencies.

One of many strongest points of the brand new identification, nevertheless, is the charming collection of black linework illustrations that act as icons and spot illustrations, and do an ideal job of speaking seemingly complicated info round Hometree’s services.

What’s spectacular about this undertaking is the best way How&How has injected delicate components of playfulness all through: the tree form is used on its aspect, and with uncommon crops and zooms, to deal with content material in vibrant, pleasant colors as a body or organisation machine. It’s visually uplifting, whereas by no means making an attempt too laborious to make Hometree appear to be one thing it isn’t: there’s no level dressing up enjoyable as useful when it’s simply not applicable, however as this work proves, there’s no want to simply relent to boringness both.