H.A.N.D.S. Shopping Mall

Spatial Strategy & Design

Visual Identity and Wayfinding for Link REIT

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Service
  • Signage Design/
  • Spatial Narratives/
  • Spatial Strategy/
  • Wayfinding Strategy/
Industry
  • Cultural/
  • Retail/

New beginnings

H.A.N.D.S mall was built in the 1980s as two interconnected shopping malls in Tuen Mun to serve residents of the surrounding housing estates. Aiming to attract a younger demographic to the area, owners Link REIT hired us to revamp the identity of the mall, in order to inject energy and liveliness into its neighbourhood. We needed to develop a single identity for the two connected commercial complexes while retaining the existing name. Our scope also included super-graphics for façades, and the elaboration of a wayfinding strategy that would solve a challenging site configuration, with complex circulation patterns through multiple blocks.

Connecting the dots

We thoroughly surveyed the site in order to best understand users’ needs, and hosted joint brainstorming sessions with both client and project architect teams. Rather than addressing the issues of branding and wayfinding separately, we looked for integrated solutions that would seamlessly connect all the dots – allowing visual identity, environmental graphics and signage to use a common language.

Figure of speech

Our creative answer retained the fun and friendly spirit of the name H.A.N.D.S, originally an acronym for “Have a Nice Day Shopping". We developed a visual identity system that served as a platform for the playful and versatile graphic communication language.

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Drawing inspiration from the architectural fluidity of the façade renovation scheme, we created an icon system linked by a continuous line that flows through the buildings. Playful messages were mixed with pertinent navigation cues on feature walls to make the environment more visually stimulating as well as informative for shoppers.

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Follow the hand

Straddling the main road separating two housing estates, On Ting and Yau Oi, the site presents a challenging mirrored configuration, proving confusing for visitor’s orientation. To address the issue, we gave the two sides a distinct, contrasting colour palette. Within this scheme, we re-organised the complex’ segmentation into five zones, articulated around a central core. Each zone was allocated an alphabetical letter from the word H.A.N.D.S, facilitating visitors’ navigation and enhancing brand recognition.

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The new identity was implemented through a unified signage system that provided intuitive directional guidance throughout the entire site. We created a scalable graphic language that allowed for a seamless wayfinding experience, from indoor and outdoor signs to physical and digital directories.

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Bold façade supergraphics optimised the impact of the new identity. The architectural connection between the two complexes was enhanced with colourful lines and icons, in order to support the integration of the two original developments into a single, memorable shopping experience.

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