Herlitz Corporate and packaging redesign

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Herlitz PBS AG is a well-known German company steeped in tradition and one of the leading manufacturers of paper products, office supplies, and stationery in Europe. Despite being well known, consumers were relatively oblivious to the company's position as a market leader. As a general supplier offering a wide range of goods, Herlitz was also up against strong competition from trademark brands and competitors with specific segment expertise.

Following restructuring, including a new shareholder structure and new management, Herlitz PBS AG underwent strategic realignment. The Brand Union was tasked with making the new corporate philosophy and strategy come alive in the brand identity, both internally and externally. The aim was to create a younger brand, raise brand awareness, and increase brand value – expressed by a modified corporate logo, new-look corporate stationery, and redesigned product packaging. Supported by the development of assortment segmentation and improved presentation at the POS.

The branding: high quality & fascinating

Brand and market research data showed: stronger branding was needed for the Herlitz brand –combined with an emotionally captivating identity that simultaneously creates more value.

The packaging: clear-cut & appealing

A clear-cut information hierarchy on the packaging and segmentation of the various product ranges was essential to make it easier and quicker for consumers to navigate through the wide variety of products offered by Herlitz.

The brand mark: accessible and independent

We created a brand mark with more striking, more modern, and more effective lettering. The word mark was ‘cleaned up’ graphically, updated, and made distinctly more legible. The newly designed brand visual represents openness and care, optimism and vitality, with a hint of a stylised 'h'.

The design: colourful and vibrant

A high quality, vibrant design communicates the image of everything that Herlitz has to offer, one that appeals above all to the core target group of mothers with school-age children, schoolchildren themselves, and students. We’ve transposed the portfolio’s cheerfulness and complexity into an abundance of bars displaying 'colours of life' that embellish the design on each package. The branding is distinctly reinforced by a generous amount of red and the succinct brand mark.

The new brand identity enabled Herlitz to attract much more attention at the POS. This made it easier for buyers to find the right Herlitz product to suit any occasion. The response from the retail trade and market research studies was extremely positive.

"The strategic analysis and advice as well as the cooperative relationship with The Brand Union was valued highly by our team and played a major role in the project's success. The Brand Union successfully rejuvenated the Herlitz image by developing the new brand mark. Besides guidelines on how to use the new logo, the CD manual The Brand Union created also outlined initial ideas for corporate stationery and a new packaging design. By relaunching the entire brand identity, The Brand Union created a sustainable concept for the future of Herlitz – a concept on which we will continue to build."

Tilmann Schwarz, Head of Brand Communication Stationery