A Shopping Mall Loved by Those Who Hate to Shop

Nobody loves shopping. Yet.
River Mall is the first shopping center of its kind in the most densely populated and youngest neighborhood group of Kyiv: Poznyaki/Osokorky/Kharkivskyi. Thanks to its various unique boutiques, flagship Silpo supermarket, IMAX theatre, food court with a variety of cuisines from around the world and beautiful boardwalk along the Dnipro river, there's no need to loudly invite anyone. We could just stop there and not work further. But no. Not everyone loves malls. Well, what could we do? Challenge accepted.
Strategy.
"Wasted weekends would be better spent on events that are more appropriate and useful for myself and my family."
A large number of people don't get any particular pleasure from shopping and would rather spend their time lounging on the couch, watching movies, firing up the grill or going to the dacha.
This insight, together with the physical location of River Mall, gave us its positioning— laid back shopping that allows people to get stress relief, relax, enjoy shopping, food and walks and everything that isn't normally associated with shopping malls.
Not an identity. An ecosystem.
A river is never same as it was a few seconds ago. With every moment, there's new water, changing directions, different waves. The flora and fauna are always in motion.
We applied this principle of constant change to the River Mall identity. We didn't just create a logo. Rather, we create a principle from which you can create a million logos. And each will be different from the previous.
πάντα ρεῖ καὶ οὐδὲν μένει*
*Everything flows. Everything changes.
The dynamic identity is based on typography and creates unique, unrepeated patterns. It underscores the fact that you never enter the same River Mall twice. With each new trip, something unique is waiting to greet you: new collections of clothes, movie premieres, speciality dishes, fresh products and pastries.
We chose royal blue and coral red for the main version of the logo, which contrast with the written element. Secondary colors, which are indirectly related to the main palette, work to complement the object, and can be used to emphasize seasonality in communications or zoning in the shopping center itself. Additionally, the identity works to create a navigation system that doesn't need a logo to remind a person they're interacting with the River Mall ecosystem.
To keep the identity comfortable for everyone, we avoided creating any strict rules for using the logo. Instead, we developed a set of branded brushes for graphic editors to use as they please. And that's the truth. Complete freedom. Only the laws of chaos reign.