BRAND STRATEGY, VISUAL IDENTITY AND PACKAGING DESIGN FOR HÖVDING

Challenge the Ordinary

How do you make the invisible impossible to ignore? Hövding, the world’s first airbag for cyclists, was a game-changer – and it needed an identity to match. Neumeister’s mission? To create a brand strategy, visual identity, and packaging design that captured the brand’s innovation, passion, and compassion.

Project
Hövding Visual Identity
Client
Hövding
Assignment
Brand Strategy
Packaging Design
Packaging Implementation
Visual Identity
Revolutionary Hövding airbag helmet captured mid-inflation – merging safety, design, and bold innovation for urban cyclists.Revolutionary Hövding airbag helmet captured mid-inflation – merging safety, design, and bold innovation for urban cyclists.
Close-up of the Hövding airbag helmet collar, showcasing smart textile design, tech-infused fastenings, and a bold yellow brand tag.Close-up of the Hövding airbag helmet collar, showcasing smart textile design, tech-infused fastenings, and a bold yellow brand tag.

Reinventing the helmet

Hövding was the world’s first bicycle helmet with a built-in airbag. Swedish industrial design students Anna and Terese set out to create a helmet that urban cyclists would actually want to wear – and wear with a smile. From day one, their motto was ‘omöjligt triggar’ – or, in English, ‘nothing is impossible’.

Hövding airbag collar with bold AIRBAG type – a Swedish cycling safety innovation shaped by smart design, strategy, and Neumeister creativity.Hövding airbag collar with bold AIRBAG type – a Swedish cycling safety innovation shaped by smart design, strategy, and Neumeister creativity.

Challenge Convention

When the brand and design work began, Hövding was present in 15 markets and had earned recognition across the industry. A brand built on challenging conventional thinking needed an identity to match – confident, relevant, and forward-looking.

High-impact black and yellow diagonal stripes – a bold, urban design cue echoing Hövding’s disruptive brand identity and cycling safety innovation.High-impact black and yellow diagonal stripes – a bold, urban design cue echoing Hövding’s disruptive brand identity and cycling safety innovation.

Designed to Disrupt

With a product so groundbreaking, sparking debate and even division amongst cyclists and safety proponents alike, an appropriate palette was required for Hövding’s brazen voyage into a sea of naysayers and doubters. Inspiration was taken from warning marks found on roads, bold yellow diagonal stripes cutting across stretches of black asphalt, signalling for traffic to keep out. This palette was fundemental in the creation a highly distinct and recognisable brand, and befitting of a product used predominently by urban cyclists.

A Logo in Motion

The Hövding logo. Bold and geometric, the typeface conveys confidence and reliability. The italicized letters create a sense of forward motion, while the lowercase “g” subtly resembles a head with a Hövding airbag around a cyclist’s neck — an understated nod to the product itself.

Urban cyclist wearing a Hövding airbag collar, showcasing innovative Swedish design that redefines safety with sleek, street-ready style.Urban cyclist wearing a Hövding airbag collar, showcasing innovative Swedish design that redefines safety with sleek, street-ready style.

Twice the impact

The cut wordmark runs across two packages, locking them together. The result? Double  impact and double presence on the shelf. Key selling points are highlighted directly on the packaging – making the benefits impossible to miss.

Twin Hövding packs form a unified brand block with cut logo and clear benefits – doubling impact through clever design.Twin Hövding packs form a unified brand block with cut logo and clear benefits – doubling impact through clever design.
Urban cyclist wearing Hövding airbag collar, blending cutting-edge safety with expressive style in a cityscape designed for bold movement.Urban cyclist wearing Hövding airbag collar, blending cutting-edge safety with expressive style in a cityscape designed for bold movement.
Portrait of a cyclist wearing Hövding’s collar-style airbag – smart safety gear with invisible design appeal.Portrait of a cyclist wearing Hövding’s collar-style airbag – smart safety gear with invisible design appeal.
Cyclist wears inflated Hövding airbag helmet – a sleek, life-saving design that redefines urban cycling safety.Cyclist wears inflated Hövding airbag helmet – a sleek, life-saving design that redefines urban cycling safety.
Bold Hövding campaign posters on white brick wall, spotlighting game-changing airbag tech and rebellious cyclist spirit.Bold Hövding campaign posters on white brick wall, spotlighting game-changing airbag tech and rebellious cyclist spirit.