Psst! Please scroll to the end to see the full front page animated
A visual identity refresh that evokes luxury, nature, and relaxation, helping Lehmonkärki better represent what they are today
Freelance project, 2024
Lehmonkärki Resort is a family owned travel business that has been around since 1967. It is located on the shore of Lake Päijänne and surrounded by beautiful Finnish nature.
Lehmonkärki offers accommodation for holidays, venues for special occasions or business needs, and different activities.
THE BRIEF
Lehmonkärki Resort was looking for a brand refresh because they felt that they had outgrown their visual identity that was created in 2011.
The goal was to update the visual identity to better represent what they are today and to give their customers a better experience. The refresh was based on key attributes they wanted to communicate: modern, close to nature, inviting, relaxing, luxurious, and of high quality.
I was commissioned to create a new logo, color palette, and typography that would express these qualities.
As a major motivator for the brand refresh was the desire for a new and improved website, we also decided that I would create website design mock-ups and guidelines. These would be the foundation for the site’s development, with the client using them during the coding and site building process.
Since their photography and tone of voice already reflected the qualities mentioned, I used them as a guide for my creative decisions in the brand refresh. It was important that these elements worked well together.
To begin the process, I did thorough research to better understand the brand, their customers, competitors, and the industry as a whole. It was essential to have in-depth meetings with the client, where we could openly discuss their needs and vision. These conversations allowed me to ask key questions and ensure I fully understood their expectations.
The logo mark, which portrays leaves in trees, is something borrowed from the old logo that Lehmonkärki wanted to include. It represents them well, reflecting their name and their connection to nature. The old variation had a colored circle behind the mark, which I advised removing in favor of a more timeless and cleaner look that better represents high quality in this context.
The biggest challenge with this new logo was getting the typography just right. With the correct fonts, we were able to achieve a feeling of modern luxury. The soft lines of the main font help create a soft, inviting impression, while also mirroring the beautiful shapes of the nature surrounding Lehmonkärki and the smooth movement of the waves on Lake Päijänne.
Because typography was the main focus, I focused on searching and comparing options to find the perfect one. When I came across Big Moore, I immediately knew it was the right fit for the brand. After explaining why I thought it worked so well, the client agreed. However, their marketing team did have a concern that using a serif font might give the brand a 'newspaper' vibe.
I understood where they were coming from, but I explained that while serif fonts do have that traditional association and print media, Big Moore is not old-fashioned at all. It’s designed by Matthew Carter, a highly respected type designer, and has this elegant yet modern feel to it. It’s classic, but with a fresh twist—perfect for a brand that wants to feel both high-end and approachable.
It was also important to notice that a font’s feeling depends on how it’s used. Layout, spacing and pairing with other elements play a big part. When looked through the eyes of Lehmonkärki’s target audience and customers, Big Moore feels more refined and natural compared to having a 'newspaper' feel. It’s timeless and it gives off the kind of luxurious yet welcoming feeling that Lehmonkärki’s brand is all about.
Because of the layout’s importance, my next mission was to find a harmonious balance in the positioning, size and thickness of both the text and the logo mark in the primary logo. We fine-tuned it together with the client through a review round. After a few tweaks, the logo and its forms were finalized.
With the typography my priority was to choose fonts that work well together and have good readability.
Like mentioned, Big Moore was a well-fitting choice to be used in the brand typography. It grabs the attention and helps brand recognition even in instances where the logo or brand name isn’t clearly attached. It should be used as a main font for headlines and quotes, but not long and small text, such as paragraphs.
I chose Utile Display as a pairing. It’s a clean and modern serif font that offers a sense of clarity and strength. It also maintains elegance which ties it together with Big Moore very well. Its sharpness on the other hand contrasts with the softer and more flowing nature of Big Moore, which creates balance and visual hierarchy. Utile Display works perfectly as a sub-heading or a header text for website navigation and buttons, for example.
For body text I chose Nunito Sans. This font ensures that the content is easy to read, even on smaller screens or in more densely packed sections. It helps keep the focus on the content, as clarity and ease of reading are key to effectively communicating the message without overwhelming the reader.
The pairing of these fonts creates a balanced, modern look—Utile Display and Big Moore bring personality and style to the headers, while Nunito Sans maintains clarity and legibility in longer paragraphs.
After we finalized the brand typography with the client, they were ready to purchase the font licenses. However, they were unexpectedly informed by their website hosting company that they could only use Google Fonts, even though they were earlier informed otherwise.
This was a bit of a challenge and led to some understandable back-and-forth. Fortunately, I was able to find suitable substitutes for the original fonts from Google Fonts. I carefully selected options that closely resembled the originals and created mock-ups to help visualize how they would look.
Since the collection was limited, there wasn’t a perfect match. After comparing side by side, we all agreed that these were the best options for this situation. These fonts are used for their website and as a substitute in other cases, where they aren’t able to use the main typography.
The color palette is designed with the new website in mind, which features a variety of background colors. Because of this, a broader range of colors was necessary to create a sense of depth, balance and visual interest.
In website design, different colors help to differentiate sections of the site, guide the user's eye, and ensure a dynamic but cohesive design. By using a range of complementary tones, we could highlight key areas like headings, calls to action, or interactive elements without overwhelming the user. Additionally, having more colors allows for flexibility in design, providing the ability to adapt the site to different layouts and content types while still maintaining a unified brand feel.
While the palette includes several colors, all of them are carefully chosen to stay cohesive and harmonious when combined, with shades of green, brown, and blue that reflect the brand’s connection to nature.
The primary greens provide the core identity, while the secondary colors add versatility and depth. Together, these colors create a serene, approachable, and elegant impression tat aligns with the brand’s identity.
The end result is a harmonious visual identity that represents what Lehmonkärki is today. Both Lehmonkärki and their customers were very pleased with the end results, with customers complimenting the modern look.
“Tämä brändiuudistuksen prosessi ei ollut vain muodonmuutos, vaan lupaus paremmasta ja houkuttelevammasta kokemuksesta. Nyt voimme seistä selkä suorana brändin takana, sillä vihdoin ja viimein brändin ilme vastaa todellista tuotteen ja palvelun laatua.” -Lehmonkärki