Ingka Centres contracted Simon Inc to design the identity and branding for a new concept they were exploring: Hej!Workshop. That brief extended into us working in partnership with them to develop the branding strategy, identity, holistic look and feel, signage, environmental graphics and marketing for the brand as it has evolved and grown over the years that followed.

Ingka is the operator of Livat, the worlds’ largest shopping centre chain, with 37 centres in 14 countries attracting over 320 million visitors a year, each centre anchored by an IKEA store – part of the Ingka family of brands.

The new concept was based on a belief that their retail centres need to become destinations where everyone can not only find what they need, but also grow, learn, connect, meet and have fun. Which led Ingka to create a new-generation co-working brand called Hej!Workshop.

Hej!Workshop bridges the gap between home and office with flexible, easy-to-reach community workplaces. So the brand and the environment had to reflect that, creating places which are welcoming, flexible, inspiring and which offer opportunities for collaboration and co-creation as well as team and individual workspaces.

The aesthetic had to reflect Ingka’s Scandinavion roots: simple, clean, playful, inspired by nature.

We developed that aesthetic into a distinctive visual language, with clear, inspiring but witty messaging, coupled with a family of simple, playful graphic illustrations to be used throughout the environment and marketing as a visual representation of those Scandinavian roots.

The pilot site for the brand was in Kungens Kurva, Stockholm which opened in 2022. Since then, we have continued to work as an integral part of the Hej!Workshop team and have opened new coworking spaces in San Francisco, Paris, London, Shanghai with other locations in the pipeline.

Watch this space!