A Friend of Mine’s retro identity for cushion company Hommey is huggable, friendly and welcoming

Combining 1980s retro warmth with contemporary aesthetic sensibilities, A Friend of Mine’s work for Melbourne cushion company Hommey is a huggable, friendly and welcoming identity for the ages. Charming from head-to-toe, the Melbourne-based design studio have dutifully and beautifully crafted a brand that effortlessly balances characterful typography with subdued but emotive colour; culminating in an accessible graphic language emblematic of the success of simplicity. Paired with equally as playful and engaging illustrated characters, Hommey’s wordmark embodies the brand’s sentiment, warmth and affability, as well as the characteristics of the cushions it sells. Having previously explored an extensive range of rounded typefaces, A Friend of Mine eventually landed on Central Type’s Rodger Black as their hero typeface. “There’s a nostalgic charm to it,” A Friend of Mine’s Creative Director Suzy Tuxen tells us, “but it’s executed in a way that feels very contemporary and suitable to Hommey’s target audience.” Designing a bespoke fullstop that neatly fits around the base of ‘Y’ to accompany the wordmark, A Friend of Mine managed to convey a further sense of the brand’s personality, provide a sturidiess and structure to Hommey’s name and create a device for graphically expressing the identity at smaller scales. “It was important to bring an element of fun and playfulness to the brand,” Tuxen recalls, “and we love it’s squish factor!”