From houses to homes
De Sleutels
De Sleutels is a social housing corporation in Leiden, a city in South Holland. “De Sleutels” means “The Keys” in Dutch, referring to everyone’s right to shelter: keys to your own front door. But Holland suffers from a severe housing shortage, so the corporation’s 8,000 houses weren’t enough to help those on lower incomes. De Sleutels responded by building new homes, a pivot from its traditional role as landlord. As part of this shift, De Sleutels worked with JUST to create a visual identity. The goal? Direct, friendly communications for tenants plus a more serious (but still friendly) tone for business purposes. De Sleutels wanted to preserve its tagline “voor een goed thuis” for a good home.” This provided a foundation for our creative efforts.
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The Key To The Keys
As always, we began by reducing a complex brief to a straightforward insight. In this case, we noted that “a good home” takes time. It’s a process, often a confusing one. A journey that begins long before the tenant picks a new sofa, involving waiting lists, income checks and much paperwork. Housing professionals don’t have it much easier. Their work involves a myriad of topics: navigating architects' plans, funding proposals, and so on. If we could clarify these formidable procedures for all involved, providing good homes would become less daunting, perhaps even fun.
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Complexity, Curiosity, Simplicity, Surprise
Curiosity drives us to investigate every aspect of a client's problem. Having studied the intricacies of social housing, we developed a core for De Sleutels’ visual identity. Again, the intention was simplicity, the force behind our most surprising solutions. For De Sleutels, simplicity meant minimalism: a curving line symbolizing the winding route to a good home. The line was combined with typography and paired-down illustrations, courtesy of the quick minds and talented pens at Fried Cactus Studio. The result? A less corporate housing corporation: branding that puts people before business.
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