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HAY
- Brand Transforming Practice

Nature, rustic, plain... What are the first few words that come to mind when you hear “Hay”?

Believing that a brand’s name is its most direct and widespread form of communication, this project builds connections between the Danish furniture and home accessory brand HAY and the imagery of “dry grass” to reshape and promote its identity. With a focus on aligning the system with HAY’s core values and enhancing accessibility and visibility, this design strategy involves physical, digital, and social dimensions.


Overview


About HAY
The brand blends Scandinavian design traditions with contemporary aesthetics.

- Products: Danish-inspired contemporary furniture and home accessories for modern living.
- Target Audience: Young urban professionals, design enthusiasts, and those looking for affordable yet stylish home furnishings.      

Design & Sustainability



By producing products that are functional, aesthetically pleasing, and accessible, HAY maximizes design in the service of human life. HAY also places importance on sustainability, focusing on durable materials for products and minimalist packaging.


Global Distribution Network
HAY’s partnership with Herman Miller in 2018 provided HAY with the resources and global distribution network to expand its market presence, particularly in North America. This action can help diversify HAY’s revenue streams and reduce financial risk. It also allowed for greater investment in product development and innovation, reinforcing HAY’s position in the global design market

Current State - Retail

Regular HAY Stores

Bright colors; Metal shelves;
Visible & repetitive products
• Convenience store for home accessories
• Accessible beauty
HAY in New York

- Outlet Stores
Neutral colors
• High-end furniture room 
with many other brands
• Lose recognizability





Purpose                          


Deliverables With a focus on aligning the system with HAY’s core values and enhancing accessibility and visibility, this design strategy involves physical, digital, and social dimensions:

- Simplicity, product-visible packaging;
- Digital platforms supporting second-hand trading and fostering a consumer community;
- A regionally interactive promotional game that engages audiences.






Brand Toolkit


 While keeping the original logotype, an opened box is added as a main visual element. To match the brand's minimalist style and show the concept of “coming into your life”, this pattern, made up of basic geometric shapes, shows the concept of “unboxing”.


The shape of this opened box can be changed to adapt to different media and scenarios


Branding Colors

Branding Typeface




Physical Deliverables

Packaging: Simplicity & Visibility
To continue the idea of “Back to the essence, come into your life”, the packaging system uses simple and degradable materials, with structures that allow the products inside to be directly visible.


No-Glue Structures






Retail Space: The HAY Wall
This is a wall of HAY products, with dry grass bricks as decorations and a long blue poster to tell the information about this brand. In the tagline, HAY is also used as an onomatopoeia like “Hey!”, to show a sense of greeting.





Digital Deliverables


 HAY Community



Behavioral Deliverables


 HAY! NEW YORK!
- TREASURE HUNTING GAME This is a game to help HAY quickly land in new cities based on HAY’s goal of building a global network. By bringing HAY products to public spaces like city landmarks, it’s a series of flash mobs activities to make HAY visible in the most direct way.


People can scan the QR code to access to the webpage and learn about the event.If interested, users can choose to download the HAY Design World app to participate in the game.

Game App














  Street Installations