Sony Corporation

Open Planet Ideas is an initiative from Sony and the World Wildlife Fund that inspires the general public to generate concepts for a more sustainable lifestyle from existing technologies. The first winning concept is an app that makes one-off volunteering easier, quicker and more social by connecting users through Facebook to events nearby.

Sony Design Centre Europe was given the brief to create a new name and identity for the app that would express the core volunteering and social aspects. The name ‘+U’ came from the simple concept of individuals being able to make a positive contribution, no matter how small.

The chosen concept expresses the collaborative and human elements of the app through the arm of the ‘+’ playfully reaching round to give the ‘u’ a hug. Through a process of refinements, the counter space between the stems of the ‘u’ was widened to ensure legibility at small scale for the digital environment that the logo would live in. The colour scheme of greens and yellows is mirrored in the navigation of the app itself.