Studio NinetyOne has rebranded baby first aid provider TinyHearts with a more confident identity to reflect the the products and services it offers new parents “when they need it most”.
TinyHearts was started by a paramedic and her sister after the realisation that if parents were more confident with basic first aid, babies lives could be saved. Starting with a first aid course for parents and caregivers, the company has now grown to offer a wider selection of courses, first aid kits and restorative products for new mothers.
Melbourne-based TinyHearts initially approached Studio NinetyOne for a new logo, but as NinetyOne started to look into it, “it seemed there was more to achieve on a business strategy level”, explains NinetyOne co-creative director Sam Hextall.
Following a visit and workshop with TinyHearts, NinetyOne shaped the rebrand around the strategy statement “by your side when you need it most”.
The realisation that TinyHearts “wasn’t just there as a first aid element; they were there all the time for parents”, was the “big flip for the understanding of their business”, Hextall explains.
Given the stressful situations for which the products have been designed, Studio NinetyOne identified the need for “hierarchy and clarity within the packaging”. Hextall says that in the existing first aid pack it was difficult to differentiate between products, and “there was no real guide as to what to look for” when using the kit.
“There seemed a massive opportunity on top of just the initial rebrand to look at the packaging and more generally at how they communicate”, he says.
The new logo for the brand comprises a bespoke typographic mark and a secondary icon. Created by NinetyOne co-creative director Sophie Azaïs, the wordmark sought to introduce a “human element” that TinyHearts competitors’ seemed to lack. It “needed to be human and quite approachable, but not too girly or playful – it needed to have this seriousness and boldness”, Azaïs says.
Typographic details in the wordmark include an expressive “hugging” ligature featuring a “comforting ‘H’ and supportive ‘y’, at the juncture of the two words, the studio explains.
There was also an “energy moving forward within the type, which we thought was quite important, and positivity, which was incredibly important from their side of things”, Hextall adds.
The hand-drawn “cradling heart” icon combines the imagery of a heart, an outstretched helping hand and a “parent cradling the child”, Hextall says, highlighting that in order to keep the branding inclusive, it was important that this comes across as a parent, rather than more specifically a mother.
Similarly, the existing “very pastel-based, slightly feminine” colour palette was updated, as the studio also “felt that it didn’t align with the immediacy of what they were trying to achieve”, according to Hextall. While it “needed to maintain a calmness”, the new palette incorporates “bolder, stronger colours”, which also “stand out and have real shelf appeal” in retail environments, he adds.
A key element to NinetyOne’s work was the packaging design. “Because it’s a product that you need in an emergency”, Azaïs says, legibility, clarity and “not overcharging the packaging” were priorities.
“We wanted the packaging to have the same effect, [as if] you had a paramedic standing next to you, saying, ‘this is what you need to use next, and this is how you use it’ ”, Hextall adds.
The rebrand has been launched on TinyHearts’ website and will be rolled out across all its packaging.
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