Dan O’Leary

HEVVY Pumps

Based in Burnaby, British Columbia, Toyo Pumps North America is a world leader in industrial-scale slurry pumping solutions, handling everything from dirty water to the heaviest slurries. The company originally started as the primary North American supplier for Japanese pump manufacturer Toyo Denki, resulting in the previous name. The focus of the company changed over time and they moved away from supply to design, manufacturing and servicing their own products. In terms of the brand and their international reach, this conflict and confusion with the Japanese brand necessitated rebranding with a new name.

The new name—HEVVY Pumps—establishes a unique and memorable position in the industry; its industrial undertones are emphasized by a visual identity system which exploits the graphic language of construction, contrasted with an unexpected colour palette. This is mainly done to provide a clear differentiation in a marketplace almost exclusively using greens and blues, and avoiding the clichéd palette of ‘safety’ colours. The wordmark is intentionally as ‘heavy’ as possible while still being easily legible. The 45° angles in the type—and the graphic system—are inspired by industrial fasteners and the visual language of worksite safety.

(Note: original concept work shown was unused in the final execution.)

Work completed at DDB Canada, Vancouver.