With its mishmashed merchandising, handwritten price stickers and garish shopfronts, the humble corner shop is generally immune to the whims of the design industry’s latest fads – and is often all the more charming for it.

Oslo-born convenience store concept Innom is vying to be the exception to this rule, however. Offering a mixture of goods that places it somewhere between a grocery store, kiosk and bakery, the new concept is aiming to engage younger audiences in the Norwegian capital.

“The new store should be tailored for those who are short on time and need to take something with them on the go. It’s not a place you do your weekly shopping, but rather a place to drop in,” says Håvard Bergo, a designer at local creative agency Try.

The agency was recently commissioned to create a visual identity that nods to the convenience store’s mission, and in particular the name Innom, which translates as ‘drop by’.

“We centred the identity around a typeface that has a distinct link to the parent brand [grocery store] Rema 1000’s round visual language, but rather than being an extension of it, the Innom brand appears like a remixed and younger version,” says designer Sunniva Grolid.

The design team worked with Benoît Bodhuin of bb-bureau to customise parts of its Pimpit typeface, to ensure that it was tailored to Innom’s bespoke logotype. A secondary typeface, Grenette, was created by Colophon Foundry.

The core colour palette, such as the dark blue, is also inspired by Rema 1000, but adjusted to be fresher and more appropriate for the new store. “Most of the colours in the palette can be combined, which results in a playful identity that can appeal broadly while retaining its distinct look,” says Bergo.

Other key elements of the identity include Pernille Münster’s glossy photography, which is used to show off both the produce and packaging, and Jonathan Averstedt’s vibrant illustrations, which feature as explainers on the store’s walls, windows and staff uniforms.

“The store contained some features that needed an additional explanation in addition to text. For example, you have to weigh your own fruit and squeeze your own juice inside the shop. These things are unfamiliar to people, and need illustrations to help with the explanation,” says Bergo.

It’s a novel approach that manages to feel both trend-aware and visually accessible at the same time, as the convenience store hopes to win over a new generation of local shoppers.

@trydesign