Gouna

Gouna is a HOME AND FURNITURE store with 6 branches across 3 different cities in Iran. It offers a variety of home furnishing and decor, displaying a mix of vintage and modern aesthetics, all appealing to a range of tastes and audiences. Gouna means diverse or colorful, and its home furniture and accessories are every bit as eclectic, diverse and wide-ranging as its name. It also offers different products across various branches.

Gouna was in need of a brand strategy and identity that could accommodate its diversity both in product range and also across various branches and their respective collections in a cohesive manner. The solution would have to provide room for flexibility and adaptability to represent various things simultaneously. This visual strategy would also have to be adaptable to future collections and branches.

The wide range of ideas and feelings that Gouna evoked had to be correctly summarized and reflected through the brand identity without sacrificing the differences and uniqueness of multiple aesthetics and branches. Our creative design solution was to develop a simple visual language and design system.

IN DOING SO WE COULD EASILY MEET GOUNA’S VARIOUS NEEDS WITHOUT SACRIFICING AN INTEGRATED IDENTITY.

We designed a simple logotype that still reflected the quirky and eclectic nature of the brand with a simple aesthetic. In its simplicity this logotype would reflect the various aesthetic qualities of the brand, while offering adaptability and flexibility. We wanted to integrate all product categories using a simple visual language, which would then allow us to design different categories with ease and clarity using slight adaptations. The logo is influenced by the logotype and features a simple design of its first letter, “g”. It also works independently and functions separately from the logotype. Inspired by the logotype and the logo, we designed different icons to represent various product categories. We designed an icon for each main product category such as sofas, chairs, dining sets and so on, all using the same design language.

Gouna has a number of branches, which needed to be represented individually. Distinguishing between the branches was crucial in displaying product availability at each branch in our communication materials, as well as packaging and billing so that it would become apparent where a purchase originated. Additionally, it was important for each branch to be able to quickly and visually distinguish its stationary and everyday documents from other branches. Meanwhile, all branches needed be unified through the same design language and identity.

Inspired by Gouna’s concept of diversity and colorfulness, we used color as a simple tool to distinguish different branches. Each branch was assigned a color based on Gouna’s color palette, which was later used as the only alternating factor in our designs for each branch.

Following the brand identity, we also designed Gouna’s delivery trucks, its website, in-store marketing materials and signage, as well as items for packing. We also created motion graphics and designed items for the opening of Gouna’s main branch including invitation cards and promotional materials.

Using our expertise in interior design and in-store experience designs, we also provided consultation on vignette staging of the furniture at the main branch.