Simplehuman

If you’re passionate about your trash bin, it’s probably a Simplehuman. Founded in 2000 by engineer Frank Yang, Simplehuman has built a mass following by using rigorous design thinking to elevate everyday objects into tools for efficient living.

Abbreviated Projects was invited to evolve the brand’s visual identity, designing a new logo suite and custom type family capable of performing across packaging, digital interfaces, and in-store environments, while better reflecting the engineering ethos at the heart of the company.

Inspired by Simplehuman’s approach to product development, we began by clearly defining the problem. Collaborative workshops with leadership revealed the functional requirements of the new identity: the logo needed to operate flawlessly at small scales, in digital contexts, and when etched directly into product materials.

On a perceptual level, the new logo also needed to resolve a longstanding issue: frequent misreadings of the brand name as two separate words, “Simple Human,” rather than a singular idea.

After hundreds of sketches, months of refinement, and extensive material testing — including etching studies on Simplehuman’s signature stainless steel — we arrived at a minimalist logotype that forms the foundation of the new identity system. Deceptively simple, every curve, counter, and pixel has been precisely considered to maximize clarity and performance, from rounded corner radii that engrave cleanly in steel to careful spacing that make “Simplehuman” read as one word.

With the logo established, we turned our attention to typography. Drawing inspiration from DIN, the utilitarian typeface long used in industrial and infrastructural contexts, we designed a custom font that balances technical precision with a warmer, more human tone. In close collaboration with the Office for Typography in Lausanne, Switzerland, the type family was developed across two optical sizes and four weights, comprising 3,296 glyphs, including a suite of stylistic alternates for functional applications.

Today, the new logo and typeface are in use across Simplehuman’s retail spaces, packaging, and digital platforms — quietly doing their job, and making their way into kitchens, bathrooms, and offices around the world.