FROM A SINGLE BED
TO A COMPLETE REBRAND
client: JELÍNEK NÁBYTEK / role: product design, rebrand direction, exhibition design / 2D: Kultiva.Studio / year: 2014
It started with designing a bed. It evolved into transforming a traditional furniture manufacturer into a confident brand of premium solid wood furniture. All in just five months!
When JELÍNEK approached me in 2014 to design a new furniture collection, I immediately realised that a new bed alone wouldn't be enough to give the brand a fresh start.
Behind the company's precise craftsmanship and long-standing tradition lay a potential that its existing presentation failed to communicate. Much more needed to change. From the products themselves to the visual identity, brand communication and the way the company presented itself at trade fairs.
The strategy was simple: show the world what JELÍNEK was truly capable of. Its craftsmanship, history, expertise and courage to take a new direction. And reach a new audience in the process.
The new bed was intended to be a bold expression of these values. Something like an automotive show car — a striking statement piece that would introduce the brand's new direction and demonstrate its capabilities without compromise.
The resulting bed draws inspiration from traditional Windsor chairs. We took their characteristic spindle backrest, scaled it up to the full width of a bed and placed it in an entirely new context.
The result is a piece that brings centuries-old craftsmanship together with contemporary design. The precision of modern technology with the touch of handcraft. A traditional material in an unexpected form.
Design Strategy
We needed to find a way to gradually transform the brand without putting its existing production or customer base at risk.
As we searched for a new direction, we also began exploring the company's archives. And discovered an incredibly rich story. Here, history and tradition weren't just marketing clichés, but genuine values we could build upon. Connecting them with contemporary design was therefore a natural step.
JELÍNEK COLLECTION
This led to the concept of a new product line that would introduce a fresh identity for the brand, attract a new audience and, at the same time, create room for the gradual transformation of its existing portfolio.
Working with the graphic design studio Kultiva.studio, visualisation artists and photographers, we began shaping the new identity. From the logo and visual communication to the catalogue, product presentation and exhibition design.
Everything was leading up to one defining moment — the unveiling of the new collection and, in fact, the brand's entire new direction at Designblok.
Showtime!
And it worked! The new collection and brand presentation attracted attention from both design professionals and the public. Winning the Best New Furniture award at Designblok confirmed that we were heading in the right direction.
In just five months, JELÍNEK gained not only a new bed and visual identity, but above all fresh momentum, greater public awareness and its first customers interested in the new design direction.
And that was just the beginning of the next chapter. From a one-off exhibition piece, we gradually moved towards products designed for regular production. Our continued collaboration resulted in the AMANTA collection, which introduced one of the defining features of the new product portfolio — the so-called floating beds.
