Ireland's biggest self-storage company needed a rethink. Adam Gallacher of We Make Design explains how they went about it.
We wanted the name to be short, have a ready connotation but also the capability to grow beyond its origins into becoming a name proper, after much work and exploration. We came upon Nesta.
The origins were obvious – a nest being a safe haven for precious things. But we wanted it grow beyond this and become its own thing. We wanted it to have a more emotive quality and that it cover a wide variety of uses.
The consumer-facing position became 'Make room for life'. We felt after much soul searching that this was the real potential of storage. It's what storage allows you to do: have the space for a growing family, a new business or time to think. It's more than a strapline, it's a creative springboard and a way to inspire the consumer's imagination.
More than a strapline, 'make room for life' was a creative springboard
In creating the design system we were mindful at all times where it would live, from online to on the side of the building we wanted it to work equally well in all environments.
We created a simple but robust logotype, we crafted the forms, but deliberately didn't add a symbol, the name was strong and emotive in its own right, a symbol would have closed in its potential.
We used the colour orange to bring warmth to a world that's normally cold and blue, we wanted to be able to use that colour to create splashes of heat and to stand out.
Orange was used to convey warmth
We created an icon system unique to the company, calligraphic in construction. Initially we were using it to describe the business areas, home, office, business and wayfinding, but it rapidly grew legs and before long were creating icons representing the things people stored and used it for.
This brought an element of fun to the whole scheme. We had icons for toilets but we also had icons for rubber ducks, electric guitars and sofas.
Icons added an element of fun
We wanted to use every opportunity to engage and make the experience more memorable, more special, so we looked at everything from packaging to the lift doors, everything became an opportunity.
Nesta has only just launched but our focus was always to create a complete 360 solution that grows as they grow, inspires and humanises, makes an impact in the market and breaks new ground for the business.
Words: Adam Gallacher
Adam Gallacher is creative design consultant at Dublin design agency Wemakedesign.
