Zeff is on a mission to close the loop between use and waste, creating well-designed, fully recyclable products using sustainable materials and responsible manufacturing processes.
Led by founder William Hayes, Zeff is a small, British business that’s been manufacturing sustainable, design-led products since 2001. Made entirely from 100% post-consumer plastic, Zeff’s Ubin was the industry’s first truly sustainable recycling bin. Crafted with sustainability and design in equal measure, over the two decades since launching, Zeff’s product range is widely used in schools, offices and leisure centres across the UK and Europe.
Having already found success in the B2B space, Zeff recognised the potential to branch out directly to consumers, however, saw the need to better communicate its meticulous design focus and genuine sustainability in order to broaden its appeal. With strategy and naming by Uri Baruchin and Rebecca Lynch, Pentagram set out to create a forward-facing brand identity that supported Zeff’s ambitions.
Sustainability and good design are inherently interlinked. With a track record of being innovative in both its sustainable processes and the design of its product, the brand concept ‘technical and transparent’ plays into Zeff’s unique duality, where as much emphasis is placed on precise engineering as where its materials come from (and where they end up).
Reflecting Zeff’s detail-orientated ethos, the identity makes the process and information behind Zeff products clear and accessible, using a technical, engineered visual language to communicate Zeff’s design expertise and sustainability benefits. From the diagrams describing the bin’s features, to the motion-led product renders that reflect the brand’s precision, to the bespoke icons that illustrate different waste streams and sustainable practices, all elements double down on Zeff’s exacting approach. Similarly, Zeff’s bespoke, bold workmark reflects the brand’s product heritage with reference to the Ubin’s signature curves, whilst allowing space for future innovations.
Whilst technical fidelity was important, transparency around Zeff’s sustainable processes, materials and manufacturing was equally so. Naturally lit photography, following art direction that matches the angles of the product renders, allows Zeff to showcase the British manufacturing, sustainable design process, eco headquarters and the small, knowledgeable team of people behind-the-scenes, whilst also creating a clear system for shooting future products.
Whilst some brand elements reflect either Zeff’s rigour or their sustainable ethos, the minimalist design language and colour palette combine both. A technical-feeling base of grey and white are offset by the sustainable-inspired hues of earth green and seafoam blue. Minimalist layout principles allow Zeff to unearth their product range’s sustainable qualities and information in a clear and easy-to-understand way. In all cases, the backdrop of design clarity and engineering champions Zeff’s sustainable credentials, demonstrating how a brand doesn’t have to be overtly quirky or cutesy to communicate its environmentally-focused offering.
The brand identity subsequently influenced the product itself, with the introduction of a new set of Zeff waste stream colours that would sit as comfortably in an office or at home, as well as the introduction of the logo to the bin itself. Ultimately, our core concept ‘technical and transparent’ allows the brand to straddle both B2B and a future B2C audience, deftly balancing rigour with openness.
With the introduction of new UK recycling legislation imminent, Zeff’s brand places it at the forefront of a new world of improved recycling—from the office to the home—moving towards a future without waste and changing the way the world recycles.
