How&How is one of the most exciting agencies out there are the moment, with recent projects including Chester Zoo and Big Cartel. And a new project, for Jupi, is already causing quite the stir.
Jupi is an AI-powered OS that learns from your actions, habits and culture to align every quandary you face into your overarching strategy.
That might sound complicated but it's actually pretty simple. Surreally simple is in fact the phrase that Jupi is going for, and its new identity matches that simplicity.
At the heart of the identity is an idea that literally has legs. Imagine Rodin's statue Thinker standing up and you're there. "We wanted to give it action, dynamism and a forward-thinking energy so we made it instead: The Walker. We wanted it to feel active, and a surreal new take on something that thinks deeply but that is also propelling itself forward all the time," explains Cat How, founder of How&How.
I asked Cat whether there were any challenges in creating this logo. "Oddly it was our own preconceptions on what we should choose that initially made us question it. I remember having back and forths with Chris Clayton (creative director at How&How who ran the project) and we were like.. 'oooooh the legs are weird... but maybe because they're weird we need to run with the legs?' (no pun intended)," explains Cat.
"Once we threw caution to the wind, and embraced the concept behind them and the energy they had as an icon, then it all made sense actually."
(Image credit: Jupi)
Alongside the dynamic logo are René Magritte-esque illustrations, which echo the surreal and the strange decision-making challenges Jupi tackles every day. The illustrations communicate themes of harmony, collaboration and trust in their own surreal way.
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(Image credit: Jupi)
"Magritte was a huge source of inspiration for the project, and championed by Jupi's CEO Nick Hernandez (who visited a Magritte exhibition in Paris and thoughtfully sent the team in London lots of books from the show)," says Cat.
"We wanted to convey the feeling that Jupi is so obvious a solution, that it is simple –almost surreally simple in its nature in that it is almost amazing that no one has ever thought about doing this before. So Magritte served as a great conceptual 'carrier' of this idea.
(Image credit: Jupi)
"The surrealism was also a way for us to push against the super-dry, Swiss, machine-inspired AI brands that are literally everywhere right now (think OpenAI's latest rebrand). This one is different. We wanted it to stand out, but conceptually it also had to make sense and tie into the strategy."
Elsewhere, there's iconography that riffs off the logo's rugged forms, a serious typeface and motion that melts like Dali's clocks. Together, this is a brand that certainly does stand out. I'm excited to see what How&How come up with next.
Rosie Hilder is Creative Bloq's Deputy Editor. After beginning her career in journalism in Argentina – where she worked as Deputy Editor of Time Out Buenos Aires – she moved back to the UK and joined Future Plc in 2016. Since then, she's worked as Operations Editor on magazines including Computer Arts, 3D World and Paint & Draw and Mac|Life. In 2018, she joined Creative Bloq, where she now assists with the daily management of the site, including growing the site's reach, getting involved in events, such as judging the Brand Impact Awards, and helping make sure our content serves the reader as best it can.
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