Hande is a “playful take” on hand sanitiser

A hand sanitiser brand has been set up in South London to help communities who have been financially affected by coronavirus.

IYA studio has created the identity for a new hand sanitiser brand, Hande.

Hande is a joint collaboration between knitwear brand Country of Origin and IYA studio. It’s being manufactured in an industrial space in Peckham, South London.

It is billed as a “premium organic product”, made with organic ethanol and adhering to a formula stipulated by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Hande has set aside 30% of the product to donate to organisations in need such as care homes and food banks. A portion of its profits is also going to these organisations.

It also aims to create living-wage jobs for people in the local community, who have been financially affected by the coronavirus pandemic including the self-employed and those working in hospitality.

Hande comes in reusable glass bottles, available in 50ml or 500ml sizes.


“Not what you’d expect for a hand sanitiser brand”

IYA studio, based in Lewisham, has created the branding for the new product. Matt Cottis, the studio’s creative director, tells Design Week: “We were aiming for something that was different to what you’d expect for a hand sanitiser brand.”

The result is an identity that is a “playful take on hand sanitisation that was approachable and friendly”.

Illustrations are a prominent aspect of the branding and add a “fun” and “friendly” tone, Cottis says. They’ve been created by Lucy Turnbull, a previous collaborator of the studio. Drawings of hands, in the process of sanitising, appear on the bottle labels.

Turnbull “gave everything a really human, hand-made feeling that fitted nicely with our ideas for Hande,” Cottis adds.


A “friendly serif”

For the logotype, an “understated and friendly serif” font has been chosen in the form of Recoleta. It “retains a handcrafted feel that you might not associate with a hand sanitiser”, Cottis says.

Archivo has been used for the supporting type which “still has a clinical feeling”, which was important as the product is a WHO sanitiser.

The identity resists the traditional bright blues of “overly clinical” branding, and instead uses more muted lilac and blue tones. These “fresh” tones were “friendly and appealing”, Cottis adds.


Hande’s future

According to its website, Hande is planning further products in the coming months. Cottis says that this was another consideration for the brand – to create an identity that “would have life beyond the COVID-19 pandemic”.

Hand sanitiser has become headline news during the coronavirus pandemic, as the product experienced high levels of demand. It has resulted in some unexpected outcomes, including distilleries creating their own brands.

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Comments
  • Mark April 24, 2020 at 2:18 pm

    Oh the moral bankruptcy of clueless design agencies in times of global distress. Design _can_ change things, but the 1st idea in your weekly brainstorm session isn’t going to save the world, or even lend it a helping Hande.

  • David Cook April 27, 2020 at 8:28 am

    A shameless opportunistic and shoddy designed self promotion piece dressed up in semi charitable good intentions that everyone can see through… is this a great idea when thousands of people have died? No, its a blatant cash-in opportunity. Fools.

  • Ben April 30, 2020 at 10:49 am

    Hi Mark, whilst you’re busy being a keyboard warrior we’ve already donated over 1000 bottles of hand sanitiser to food banks and carehomes desperately in need.

    So thanks for your negative comment, but maybe keep it to yourself next time!

  • Ben April 30, 2020 at 10:50 am

    Hi David, whilst you’re busy being a keyboard warrioer we’ve already donated over 1000 bottles of hand sanitiser to carehomes and foodbanks desperately in need. So thanks for calling us fools but actually the folks we helped were pretty appreciative!

  • Andy April 30, 2020 at 4:14 pm

    Well Ben, whilst you’re busy taking the moral highground….

    At £4.95 for a tiny 50ml bottle – Maybe a few weeks ago when panic buying meant you couldn’t get them for love or money – the premium price with semi good intentions was maybe a good idea…

    But with the panic buying over now, many hand sanitiser brands and other brands are re-purposing their efforts to make these products. They are already donating their products to food banks and the NHS, so then its no wonder you’re giving them away when you probably can’t shift them. Nice try though.

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