More than ever, sustainability has become a central concern of future-facing brands who hope to play a bigger role in building a better world. Among those is Airsign, founded by industrial design firm Guerra Office, to create appliances like their HEPA Vacuum - which offers better design, powerful engineering, and respect for the environment. Hoping to see their principles reflected in a brand that also presents a new vision for the future of product design, Guerra Office teamed with a creative studio High Tide to create an identity and brand world inspired by 1980s futurism, European car design, and the warm simplicity of Japanese minimalism.

Having worked for Sweetgreen, Outdoor Voices, Away, and others – helping these D2C startups become massively successful – Guerra Office decided to apply their talents to create their offering with Airsign and their first product, the HEPA Vacuum. Made of 20% recycled plastic and thoughtfully engineered to be fully disassembled and recycled after its lifespan, the vacuum addresses current sustainability concerns to eventually make every part replaceable and easily installed by the customer. This produces far less waste and aligns with Airsign’s mission to create products that are beautifully designed but better for people and the planet.

“Vacuums have seen little to no innovation over the years and the industry was begging to be improved, not just in their design but how they were communicating their value to users and the world,” explains High Tide Founder and Creative Director Danny Miller. “Most vacuums are wasteful, shoddily constructed, overly engineered, and quite frankly, ugly. However, in Airsign’s mind, a poorly designed product uses up even more time, energy, and materials than a well-designed one. We had to construct a vision that communicated their ambition to transform the home appliance industry with tools for better living.”

Bonding over their mutual appreciation for Italian sports cars, Dieter Rams, and Japanese design, Guerra Office and the High Tide team developed a strategy that resulted in a new, authentic brand positioning – “Tools for Modern Living”. This foundation allowed them to reimagine what a modern home care brand should look and feel like. Beginning with the identity and visuals, High Tide made sure the creative work complemented the beauty of the product without overpowering or competing with it.

“Since the brand and products emphasize human-centered design, with a vacuum that is compact, rounded, and refreshingly devoid of extraneous parts or branding, we wanted to create elements of the identity that were understated and simple,” says Miller. “The lifestyle imagery was meant to evoke humanity and warmth in modern living, set in a mid-century household, and played off of our bold and offbeat color palette, an eclectic mix of bright poppy colors and subtle neutrals that were in part inspired by Italian design from the post-war era.”

Working together, these elements helped elevate Airsign as a new, industry-redefining voice in product design. “People are placing more and more importance on investing in and spending more time at home, so they need products and brands that address all elements of a person's life, down to their values,” says Miller. “To be able to collaborate with the Guerra Office team in such a fluid and constructive way, helping build a brand that is trying to reduce wastefulness and environmental impact, was hugely meaningful for us. We shine brightest when we’re able to faithfully bring the personality of a brand to life, and with our work on Airsign we know we’ve embodied their authenticity, beauty, and mission in a way that we hope will inspire others.”