HILLSIDE
There for the climb.
Articulating the journey to better mental health.
Naming
Brand structure
Brand identity
Copywriting
Design system
Project
Hillside Clubhouse are a North London charity working between Camden and Islington council wards, providing a supporting space for people with a variety of mental health difficulties.
There was a desire from new leadership to re-focus perceptions – from a place of passive sanctuary to a service actively helping people on their journey to better health and into employment.
There for all your ups and downs.
Insight
The name Hillside no longer had any real meaning behind it, but was long established. We saw potential in it where they didn’t, using hill-climbing as an analogy for their patrons’ mental health journeys, leading to a unique messaging approach. Dropping the word ‘Clubhouse’ positioned them as a service, not a place.
We built on the hill-climbing metaphor with a logo based around a climbing pair of legs standing in for the ‘LL’, and lettering that gradually rises up.
Design
The typography is deliberately unpolished, but full of energy. Imagery and layout treatments are deliberately simple so that they can be easily adapted by Hillside patrons of all ability levels.
We played on the irony of the lack of hills in Camden and Islington where they work, with tilted one-colour imagery.
Hillside had a café sideline, also offering event catering, with a completely different name. We proposed it be considered as a sister brand, with a new name but similar treatment.
Mindfull Café
The new name is Mindfull – combining mental health with a filling meal. The word shares formal qualities with Hillside: eight letters, two syllables, a double L. The logo shares a design language too, with a ‘full up’ treatment on the ‘full’.
The new Mindfull Café site opened in Islington in summer 2023.
“We really felt like you understood the challenges we face and the nuances of our work… we all came away feeling really positive and excited.”
Catherine Pymar, Executive Director, Hillside Clubhouse
