Honka brand refresh

Honka is a pioneer in log construction, driven by a desire to promote natural, good living. We were honored to work on clarifying and refreshing Honka’s brand for over a year (2021–2022).

During strategy, we conducted interviews with key people across markets and with leadership, held workshops, and did competitor analysis to find deep insights about the brand’s unique place in the world.

Based on research and data insights, we refined Honka’s brand core, wrote the brand story, defined the customer promise, and created key messages, especially for earned media. We also created an entirely new visual identity and a globally functioning slogan: Wood Living, which embodies Honka’s essence and customer promise

The visual identity centers around Honka’s iconic logo and yellow brand color. Across the identity refresh, visual goals were to bring the power of the forest into the brand. The palette was completely updated, adding natural tones alongside bold contrasts. At the heart of it all shines Honka’s and nature’s energy — symbolized by the sun-like brand color yellow.

Brand strategy, brand core clarification, brand story, customer promise, slogan, key messages, visual identity, brand film, brand photography, numerous implementations.

Elina Simonen, Valtteri Hirvonen, Jari Hämäläinen

“Gut quickly grasped what the Honka brand’s core is and how the brand should look, feel, and sound. Gut also helped us distill our sustainability programme and bring sustainability actions into all marketing communications. The whole was extensive, as we took into account country‑ and language‑specific matters and created a large number of applications for international use. Whatever came up along the way, Gut’s professionals quickly and nimbly brought solutions to the table. The collaboration has been truly inspiring, effortless, and smooth. The new look has been well received and works well in all our main markets according to international studies.”
– Sanna Huovinen, Maketing Director, Honka