hubba hubba
Strategy + Brand Design
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Addurance, the Amsterdam-based marketing bureau where I work, had a credibility problem. The bureau was strong in marketing and strategy, but when it came to creative work — design, concepting, campaigns — that strength stayed invisible. Not because the ambition wasn't there, but because there was no face to put on it. Potential clients didn't see it. Existing clients didn't know what was possible.
The owner asked me to build a sub-brand that could change that. A creative agency with its own name, its own voice, and enough confidence to be taken seriously in a market full of agencies that overestimate themselves.
The name needed to do the work before a single logo was in sight. "Hubba Hubba" — an expression of desire, admiration, and attraction — said in two words what the agency was about. I translated that core into one brand promise: We create desire. Not as an internal statement, but as a direct reference to what brands want to achieve with their audience: turning heads, sparking something. That was the goal. That's always been the goal.
Client
addurance
Services
Brand Design
Year
2024
SWISS URBAN
With the name and the promise in place, the question became: what does an agency that sells desire look like — without making itself more important than the work?
The answer started with restraint. Rather than building an identity around saturated color, I used bold hues selectively — as a signal, not a wallpaper. Applied at specific touchpoints, the color commands attention exactly where it needs to, without competing with client work. The identity is a stage, not the main act.
For typography and composition, I looked to the Swiss design tradition: grids, hierarchy, clarity. Helvetica as the backbone — a deliberate choice for its neutrality and authority. But pure Swiss felt too clinical for what Hubba Hubba needed to be. The energy of urban streetwear — bold, confident, slightly irreverent — gave it the personality to match the name. A secondary typeface adds the charm where the primary one brings the weight.
The result is an identity that knows what it stands for. Strong enough to stand out, disciplined enough to let client work breathe.
