Vanderbrand’s welcoming identity brings energy and vibrancy back to Heartland shopping centre

Heartland Town Centre is a behemoth of a shopping centre located in the Canadian town of Mississauga; housing over 190 storefronts that are home to restaurants, fashion and home goods. It’s managed by Canada-based Orlando Corporation which decided that, with growth in mind, the mall’s identity needed an update. Toronto-based creative agency Vanderbrand were approached to deliver the rebrand with the intention of creating a catalyst of growth in the local area, as well as for the brand itself.

Vanderbrand created a new identity, which includes a typographic system, colour palette, and a versatile graphic language. The result is a revitalising style that matches the scale and impact of the well-known Canadian mall. This in part comes in the form of their new wordmark, set in the sans serif Roobert by Czech type foundry Displaay. Applied simply and prominently, the large scale of the wordmark intends to stand out, not shying away as it dominates across billboards, packaging and Heartland's own website.

For the secondary typeface, Vanderbrand opted for Displaay’s Hellix, a similar sans serif that provides a friendly accompaniment to the eye-catching wordmark. This pair of geometric sans serif fonts have also been chosen to compliment the abstracted shapes of the brand’s logo. This icon, based on a lowercase ‘h,’ represents the architectural motifs found within Heartland; appearing in various proportions, most frequently at a large, closely-cropped scale. The choice comes from the neighbourhood’s reputation as it houses high-profile street-front retail locations.

This oversized use of the logo suits Vanderbrand’s bold approach to colour, which sees energising colour pairings take centre stage. The colours aim to capture the attention of new and old visitors with the intention of bringing vibrancy and energy back to Heartland.

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