Hygge Life
Originally opened in 2017, Hygge Life was an early pioneer in introducing the concept of hygge to an American audience, and has since become one of the Vail Valley’s most noteworthy destination shopping experiences. Yet after nearly five years of business, the brand’s website and online customer experience were falling short of the warm, attentive and highly curated ambiance of the Hygge Life showroom and café.
In turn, we were asked to partner with founders Alexandra and Koen on developing a comprehensive brand refresh, including brand messaging, color palettes, updated visual assets, website creative direction and a number of print and digital brand extension materials. Our goal throughout this creative process was to evoke the incredibly special experience of visiting Hygge Life in-person, in addition to highlighting Alexandra and Koen’s compelling personal story and influence as design tastemakers.
LOCATION
Vail, Colorado
PROJECT SCOPE
Visual Brand Refresh
Brand Positioning + Copywriting
Photography
Creative Direction (Shopify Website)
Email Marketing
Printed Materials Design
COLLABORATORS
Studio Humankind, Development
The Opportunity
For those lucky enough to visit Hygge Life’s showroom in Vail, the experience can best be described as transportive. With the goal of cultivating a sense of comfort, contentment and a more meaningful experience of everyday moments, the space beautifully displays Alexandra and Koen’s design philosophy—as well as countless beautiful objects and pieces of furniture that embody that perspective. Despite their many successes, however, the founders had not previously had the time or bandwidth to invest in a comparable online presence or to focus more intentionally on how best to leverage their brand through various marketing channels.
The Challenge
While attracting new customers online would certainly be a boon to the Hygge Life brand, the founders’ primary concern was to continue to bring new visitors to their Vail showroom and to continue relationships with previous customers who may not live in the area. Additionally, their wish was for the website to transcend a mere e-commerce platform, creating a space to feature specific brands and makers, share thoughtful content and even highlight the business’ new interior design services.
In turn, the largest challenge for the project was to maintain a streamlined content strategy that would not overwhelm customers, while still providing a comprehensive platform that touches on the many aspects of the Hygge Life brand. For the execution of the website, we partnered with Studio Humankind on a custom Shopify build, while providing creative direction and feedback throughout the web design process.
Visual + Verbal Storytelling
It goes without saying that Hygge Life is an intensely visual brand, thanks to the stunning curation of design objects and furniture throughout the showroom and café. However, the philosophy behind this design strategy is an incredibly important part of the founders’ perspective, so we strove to create a comprehensive brand refresh that focused as much on clear messaging as on design and photography.
The centerpiece of this project was an eye-catching website that not only draws customers in, but also engages with them emotionally and intellectually to achieve a greater sense of brand storytelling—including a focus on the founders and their personal contributions to the customer experience. Building on the website, we then developed an automated email series that would be sent to all new customers and newsletter subscribers, as well as a series of printed materials to enhance the in-store experience. Working together as a whole, these assets ensure an integrated, multi-channel experience of Hygge Life's ethos, regardless of a customer's initial point of entry.
THOUGHTS FROM THE CLIENT
“It was a pleasure working with Lauren and Carly! Our business had grown and changed but our website and branding did not reflect that. They helped us refresh our brand and website including copywriting, new imagery and professional marketing materials. They are both incredibly talented in different ways and brought such a valuable, well-rounded perspective to our project.
Our business is our baby and they handled it with care and took time to listen to our desires. They are organized, efficient, honest and have the best taste - highly recommended for any and all branding/design projects!”