Honouring Hungarian craftsmanship, Any Other Name’s look for Nanushka is full of tactile charm — The Brand Identity – Home of the Greatest in Graphic & Brand Design

London-based creative studio Any Other Name has breathed new life into Budapest fashion house Nanushka’s brand identity, with a new look that aligns with their reputation for time-honoured craft and technical innovation. “Our goal was to honour this duality by crafting a cohesive identity that speaks to this dichotomy,” explains Ben Atkins, Founder & Creative Director at Any Other Name.

The studio worked closely with Nanushka’s Founder & Creative Director Sandra Sándor and her in-house design team, culminating in a comprehensive rebrand that sets the stage for the label’s continued international expansion. They have introduced a new visual language that pays homage to the fashion house’s rich influence of Hungarian tradition with a contemporary bohemian sensibility and geometric forms. Tactility and craft play a key role here, as presented in the bespoke wordmark and comprehensive packaging suite.

Creating Nanushka’s wordmark was a journey of refinement and collaboration. Initially working with typographer Seb McLauchlan on a custom version of Times Modern, they pivoted based on client feedback. “We quickly got to work on a new direction with Berthold Wolpe’s Pegasus (1937) as our starting point,” explains Atkins. The resulting typeface balances angular geometry with brand heritage. “Its inherently angular and chiselled qualities could be further amplified to complement the geometry echoed elsewhere in the identity,” he continues. “Seb helped us to craft bespoke features into the anatomy of each letterform ensuring we were delivering something distinct and ownable for the brand.”

Seeking a softer alternative to the previous condensed sans serif supporting typeface, Any Other Name was drawn towards Dinamo’s Arizona Serif by Elias Hanzer. “While not as angular as Pegasus,” Atkins remarks, “it possesses a beautifully carved, almost calligraphic quality, providing a similar contrast that resonates with our wordmark.”

Tactility and craft are further emphasised through subtle brand signifiers. Kopjafa, once 16th-century grave markers in Hungary – motifs carved into wood by skilled craftspeople – have evolved into cultural artefacts and symbols of Hungarian heritage. Nanushka adopts its own Kopjafa symbols to represent its brand spirit. Six geometric symbols, ranging from the guiding knowledge of the ‘Star’ to the inherently playful ‘Checkerboard,’ embody Nanushka’s brand spirit while paying homage to the traditional motifs.

Another key motif recurs at various touchpoints in the Nanushka brand world – formed of two converging lines, often achieved through the production process, resulting in a tactile effect instead of a graphic mark. “This motif was inspired by Nanushka’s Origami bag, which elegantly folds flat when empty,” notes Atkins. “This reflects Sandra’s Bauhaus-inspired belief in functional beauty.”

Alongside Nanushka’s central pairing of black and white, the introduction of ‘Moonbeam’ yellow as a signature hue adds a pop of personality to brand outputs. “Establishing a signature colour was part of the brief,” says Atkins, explaining that this was “something Nanushka didn’t have before.” This buttermilk-inspired shade, a favourite of Sándor, serves as a playful accent across touchpoints, while also serving as a nod to the brand’s bold use of block colours in past collections. “We named it ‘Moonbeam,’ a tribute to the crescent moon symbol that features elsewhere in the brand’s identity,” Atkins concludes.