Sungai Design

Central to communicating the story of Sungai Design is the brand symbol – inspired by the architecture of Balinese temples, it metaphorically depicts a gateway to a more sustainable future, a method for capturing river plastic and a bracket device to draw attention to impact statements.

The familiarity of the core brandmark connects with the local community and also echoes the shape and process of creating plastic CNC furniture panels. In concert with the symbol, a bold logotype and flexible brand language, including a vibrant blue core brand colour and animated icons, introduce a playful approachability to the identity.

Visual Design: The bold, modern visuals evoke a strong emotional response and connect with an eco-conscious audience including design-conscious consumers and premium B2B clients. This playful yet sophisticated style ensures the brand stands out in a crowded market.

Functionality: Swear Words’ identity design communicates Sungai Design’s commitment to sustainability clearly and unambiguously. Its intuitive information architecture facilitates easy navigation through brand touchpoints, ensuring the sustainability message is both prominent and approachable.

Usability: By visually telling the story of transforming waste into appealing products, the Swear Words’ design enhances its communication objectives and user engagement. This approach makes the sustainability aspect engaging and accessible, encouraging deeper interaction and enhancing the overall user experience.

Commerciality: Aligned with the aspirations and price points of high-end markets such as hospitality and commercial spaces, the design is strategically tailored to appeal to its target audience. This alignment boosts the brand’s value, credibility, and desirability, reinforcing its market positioning as a premium, innovative, and sustainable brand.

Innovation: Swear Words’ identity design for Sungai Design rejects typical ‘green’ visual cues and instead opts for a unique, bold aesthetic that is distinctive in the industry – challenging traditional representations and fostering a new visual language along the way.

Originality: Swear Words’ identity design is not just visually appealing but deeply intertwined with Sungai Design’s innovative business model, setting a new benchmark for how sustainability is perceived and promoted in the industry.

Category Insight: By transitioning from activism to a scalable consumer brand, Sungai Design fills a market gap with sustainable, aesthetically superior products, setting a fresh direction in sustainable product design. The brand pioneers a model that transforms upcycled plastic into premium products, demonstrating that environmental sustainability can coexist with consumer-facing profitability.

Human Insight: The brand engages consumers by converting plastic waste into desirable products, avoiding preachiness and encouraging a personal reevaluation of the connection between consumerism and sustainability.

Category Impact: Sungai Design significantly challenges norms within the eco-friendly market by shifting away from traditional green motifs to a bold, innovative aesthetic. This approach not only differentiates the brand but also encourages other companies in the sustainability sector to adopt more creative and distinct branding strategies. By setting a new standard, Sungai Design’s brand identity improves the category, offering a fresh perspective on how sustainability can be communicated, thus enhancing user engagement and broadening the market’s appeal.

Industry Impact: The project showcases the substantial business value of strategic and conceptual design. Sungai Design’s identity illustrates how a well-thought-out design can elevate a brand’s positioning and attract premium market segments. This success story serves as an example for other businesses that investing in high-quality design is crucial for differentiation and market leadership, encouraging them to pursue similar transformations to enhance their user experience and brand perception.

Societal Impact: By transforming recycled plastic waste into desirable products, Sungai Design not only promotes environmental responsibility but also encourages consumer participation in sustainability efforts. This initiative has a direct positive impact on reducing plastic waste and promotes a circular economy. The brand acts as a beacon, inspiring positive societal and environmental change and encouraging both individuals and other businesses to prioritise sustainability in their operations and lifestyles.