POW! EIGA’s energetic brand for Hanover puts the city’s culture and community spirit in the spotlight

The capital city of the German state of Lower Saxony, Hanover is often recognised as a business hub, hosting many international trade fairs. However, it also boasts a rich cultural sector, from museums and theatres, to several independent cultural initiatives.

While designing the brand for an entire city could be seen as daunting, EIGA – tasked with developing the brand and campaign for Hanover – took it in their stride, seeing it as an opportunity to showcase their expertise and process as a branding agency. “To unite the very different cultural actors of an entire metropolitan region behind a brand idea, you have to listen to people, their needs, and at the same time, inspire them with a common idea,” Founder & Managing Director Henning Otto explains.

To get to the city’s heartbeat, they ran several workshops, inviting representatives from these institutions, as well as the catering industry, the business community, the trade fair, and citizens of the city of Hanover. According to Otto, these discussions not only helped the team gain valuable insights into different needs and considerations but also secured acceptance for the new brand. Highlighting design’s power as a tool for unity, he explains that “even during the strategy phase, we were able to generate enthusiasm for change without showing concrete design routes.”

A common sentiment among participants was the idea that, “Where people and cultural institutions meet, energy is created that can be felt and seen!” Noting the themes of “collaboration, exchange, diversity, dialogue, excellence, and community,” Otto reveals that the brand’s value proposition, ‘Feel the Energy,’ was born.

The foundation of the Hanover brand symbol, energetically dubbed the ‘POW,’ is composed of six circles, each representing different cultural institutions in Hanover, coming together. “The structure’s interior shows a small explosion, from which the untamed energy of culture emerges,” adds Otto. Beyond just a logo, this cartoon-like motif shifts and transforms, serving as a framing device that “creates strong recognition in the cityscape and beyond.”

Red, the brand’s primary colour, was not only the perfect choice to enhance the theme of energy but is also the colour of the coat of arms of the state capital, Hanover, and the entire state of Lower Saxony. “We have opted for a slightly lighter, more contemporary shade of red,” says Otto, explaining that this maintains a clear connection while carving out its own definitive look.

For the typography, Displaay’s Bagoss communicates the “positive character and positive aura” of Hanover, while maintaining enough neutrality to unite the diverse needs of the city’s cultural players. “A condensed sans serif construction with a large x-height is perfect for the striking use of the font,” Otto concludes.