BUILDING A NEW VISUAL IDENTITY & EXPANDING DIGITAL OFFERINGS

Hærvejen approached us for help in unlocking an untapped potential - getting more people out to experience the beautiful and historic hiking and cycling route through Jutland.

Our goal was to strengthen the brand and make Hærvejen an iconic attraction that tourists from all over the world would want to visit. Building on their current brand strengths, history, and nature, we developed a new brand identity and enhanced the user experience with two digital products designed to encourage more people to attract, explore and support the beauty of Denmark before, during and after walking and cycling the more than 500 km long routes.

Aim was to make Hærvejen the largest open nature attraction in Denmark.

After the pandemic, interest in hiking and cycling has increased, as people have discovered how nature can bring peace to an otherwise stressful daily life. However, Hærvejen and the associated municipalities did not experience a growing interest in exploring their route through Jutland.

Awareness was simply too weak, considering that Hærvejen offers both beautiful nature and historical and cultural experiences. Therefore, they needed help to capture people's interest and inspire them to plan their next trip on Hærvejen.Furthermore, their target audience had also changed. It was no longer just experienced hikers and cyclists, but also people who prioritize comfort and good dining experiences along the way, as social og family day-trips.

Therefore, it became essential to strengthen their brand to appeal to a much broader audience, and the digital services to support across website and APP’s.
Further, their previous technical platforms had issues with both performance and user-friendliness, which was strongly reflected in dissatisfied users and reviews.

Therefore, they needed an update of the technical architecture to make both the editor and user experience more seamless – and an APP to work in off-line states also, with superior wayfinding and map functionality.

As a solution, we developed a fresh yet timeless brand platform and visual identity that visitors will encounter both in the physical world through signage on the route and analog maps, as well as digitally, on a new website and app. The website is designed to inspire and guide users to explore the route by offering descriptions of curated routes, planned two-day trips, and planning assistance. On both the website and the app, the users will find a digital map that can be used for planning and navigating underway on the route, helping them locate facilities, accommodation, and providing directions on the go.
We developed an architecture based on a headless CMS integrated with two public API’s, which pull the necessary data into the platforms. As a result, more than 80% of the content on the two digital platforms is automatically retrieved and therefore only maintained within the API’s, streamlining the workflows for the editors. Further, we used a well-tested map technology that ensures users are presented with accurate distance measurements and can navigate the route without using data – and also works in offline mode.

The platform and datamodel is build in a modern API architecture, with one map functionality to support both the two native apps and website.
Furthermore we have uses plug-in AI for automated language translation into English and German, which saves weeks of content work and translation – and even brings valuable SEO optimization out of the box.