The Client and the Task
In early 2020, Heime approached Nimax to develop a new brand for a kitchen manufacturer. It was an enormous project, aiming to launch not only a store, but also an in-house production facility in the suburbs of St Petersburg.
Our task was to help the company conduct a study of the kitchen market, confirm or adjust their brand positioning hypothesis, come up with a brand name, develop a visual identity, and launch a website.
Positioning
Through research, we identified two key principles for the new brand’s positioning:
1. A kitchen for your home and your lifestyle
Just as no two people are the same, so every kitchen is unique: everyone has their own ideal design.
We help you to adapt the look of your dream kitchen to the space in your home and to your lifestyle.
2. A beautiful kitchen ≠ a functional kitchen
We know how to structure a work zone, allocate space, squeeze the most out of a small area,
and get the best out of an unusual space. Your kitchen should be functional as well as beautiful.
Brand Name
We came up with the brand name on the basis of the brand’s positioning and three requests from the client:
— The name must be written in the Roman alphabet.
— It must not reference the theme of kitchens.
— It must have a free web domain within the .ru zone.
The requirement that ruled out the most contenders was the need for the name to have a free domain in the .ru zone. The winner chosen from the five final options was Heime, from the Norwegian word for “home.”
Color Scheme and Logo
To differentiate the brand from competitors, we chose soft pistachio as the brand's signature color: cozy and warm like a bouquet of dried flowers, saturated with the hot rays of the Norwegian sun.
We also proposed options for a logo for the company's sub-brands.
Visual Identity
The brand’s visual identity plays with this idea of adapting a dream kitchen to the space
in a house and to a lifestyle. The design system is supported by natural materials
and colors taken from the natural world.
The fundamental duality of the design system could be developed to produce
more complex designs and combinations of materials.
Website
The site's home page tells people the main thing they need to know: Heime will create
the kitchen of their dreams, and the standard of production and experience of the company's
founders will ensure that it is affordable, high-quality and durable.
When Heime launched, it had already completed the first 30 kitchens available
in the catalog for friends and acquaintances.
Detailed filters, popular tags and collections help customers quickly navigate and filter interesting designs.
On the detailed page for each kitchen, you can look into each cabinet, open each door,
see the view from the table, the door or the window, get to know the main features
of the kitchen, and investigate other colors, materials and configurations.
In the "How we work" section, we break down the process of designing and fitting a kitchen:
from getting to know the client and their home to production, assembly, and installation.
Kitchens, materials, colors, and accessories that customers add to their favorites will be
sent to the Heime manager along with their order.
Project Participants
Art Director: Pavel Konyukov
Graphic Designers: Pavel Konyukov, Anastasia Bazylnikova
Strategist: Olga Yakushenko
Web designers: Dennis Sychev, Alyona Ilina
Backend developer: Igor Seroukhov
Frontend developers: Dimitri Gulkin, Vlad Vasiliev, Ruslan Dzyubanov
