Signs of LooOve
Since 2017, we love them, we make them.
You might not know it, but you need it
Since 2017
We love signs
We make signs
CHEERS
DOGUERIE – Canine XL
Where dogs and cats feel home. Our story with Canine started with a Bone, then another Bone facing it, to sign their cool presence in Saint-Gilles. The collaboration then expanded to cover the design of their new second store in Flagey.
Where dogs and cats feel home
Our story with Canine started with a Bone, then another Bone facing it, to sign their cool presence in Saint-Gilles.
The collaboration then expanded to cover the design of their new second store in Flagey.
From identity to furniture to signage. And we had joy and we had fun, and with the yellow color we hoped to get the sun, to dog/cat paradise.
As for the shelving systems we placed, one system, s.alu, is rented from Rayon Belge for the back store. As for the shelves in the front, they are made from steel and reused scraps of wood.
And to pimp the store even more, decoratively speaking, and to add a touch of personal/animal to it, we went building customer loyalty approach. For that, a photoshoot of the clients was organized, their feedback on Canine was noted, and the result is proudly exhibited in the different corners of the Canine No.02 store in Flagey.
Photos & Video by Luciana L. Schütz AKA Lulu.
Find your way - Maison de la Culture de Tournai
For Maison de la Culture in Tournai we have collaborated, with Atelier Blink ( for we cherish collaborations).
They have designed, and we have developed, produced, and installed, signage.
For Maison de la Culture de Tournai we have collaborated, with Atelier Blink (we cherish collaborations). They have designed, and we have developed, produced, and installed, signage.
Signage as a mean to guide, to inform, and to improve, the experience of the visitor, by giving clear signs, and directions, pointing at the different areas and programs within the center.
That’s what we do.
Photos & Video by Luciana L. Schütz AKA Lulu.
Tournai Général
One city. Two interventions. Three artists, and HIER, us.
Branding Tournai this time, branding both sides under a bridge, and one over another, both alongside the canal de l’Escault.
One city. Two interventions. Three artists, and HIER, us.
Branding Tournai this time, branding both sides under a bridge, and one over another, both alongside the canal de l’Escault.
Murals telling the story of the city, of its architecture, folklore, and personas, under Pont A. Devallée. A story told by two different artists: Hedi Baka and Wenc part of the collective Les Îles Mardi.
A ground mural telling the story of the intersection between water, earth and stone, over the passerelle Notre Dame, by the artist Marine Bonamy.
These stories were told and painted with the help of an incredible set of hands @cocolaurens @olwesto_paobar @antoine_moustie @octaviolimaa @rammouk
Les clés de la ville - Pont A.Devallée
This mural is an invitation to discover the story of the city and its heritage through flags, pictograms, iconic characters. Its content is inspired by local craftsmanship, folklore, and the architecture of the city.
The artwork here is a collaboration between two who collaborate a lot: Wenc and Hedi Baka. A lover of architecture and captured instances, and the other passionate about energetic and vivacious characters.
La passerelle aux reflets - Passerelle Notre Dame
This floor mural echoes with the canal, with the passers by and with the boats crossing beneath it. It aims to create a social link, a place for exchange of words, of love, of looks towards the city. The painted shapes and their colors reference the worlds of water, of earth and of stone.
Marine Bonamy, is the artist of this work. Her universe is organic, mineral, and aquatic. Her work is based on texture, superposition, and movement.
Project powered by Colora Zaventem
Video and photos by Jules Cesure, the only one.
So happy and proud with this collaboration.
And if you drive by Tournai, take a Tournai by the canal and wander through a graphic novel of the city.
BRICKS
The collaboration HOULÉ x HIER is a research project, a work in progress and a story of process, of exchange, of adding and subtracting. A journey of words, drawings, textures, and samples.
Here, the results of a one year collaboration, between HIER and briqueterie HOULÉ.
You can check out the feel of each brick made @fondationboghossian in the exhibition Duos in Resonance up to the 20th of august 2023.
The collaboration HOULÉ x HIER is a research project, a work in progress and a story of process, of exchange, of adding and subtracting. A journey of words, drawings, textures, and samples. A process generating multiples possibilities, some explored, and others yet to be explored. A process where mold and brick form a duo, and are a result of a duo.
in PROCESS we trust
We have met. We have talked. We have listened.
On one side, there is the artisan, Mathieu, and his machine, semi manual semi automated .
On the other side there is the design party, HIER.
Mathieu Guitoun, a brick maker/artisan, produces bricks using the same techniques, machines & process as the old brick factories from 19th - 20th century.
That philosophy and respect for tradition offers an authentic look but also a quality that you no longer find with the industrial bricks. The same could be said about the colours: they are not to compare with those of the industrial brick.
Concept and approach
From the different approaches we could have chosen for this project, the duo decided to use Mathieu’s machine to produce more of his product, the ornamental brick. But more textured, deformed, or stamped.
Our approach is to use the same machine, make use of the freshness and malleability of the product before its drying and then cooking, and find low-budget solutions such as additions to the existing mold or stamps.
End game
to develop something that could be added to his catalogue of products.
develop something smart and efficient that tweaks the standard brick, adds variety to the collection.
Game plan
Modifying the pressing mould: add pieces, corners, or layers of textures
Manipulating after pressing: explore different stamps and enamelling techniques
Cheers to Wallonie Design. And thank you for this great opportunity and for pairing us together :)
Process photos by @heloiserouard & us. Photos of the exhibition by @silviacappellari and Maxime Legrand - Fondation Boghossian – Villa Empain, exposition Duos in Resonance, Brussels, 2023
La Grande Halle
From light to language to signage, we used boxes of light to indicate the way and the services throughout the halls of the Halles de Schaerbeek.
This project commemorates a first collaboration with Studio Alvin. One amongst many hopefully. As we were delighted, to work with them.
Alvin are the masters of the graphics for this project, and we were commissioned the signage system for the Halles. For that, a word popped: light.
Light. Well. It lights.
It sets an ambiance, or emphasizes, elements over others.
Light. Well.
It glows and it shows.
It tells. the start, the end, of a show. It transitions, also.
There is a moment where it dims to black to then light specifically, something intended to be seen, leaving the audience in the dark. Literally.
Light is a language communicating queues. Indicating, time, and things.
It is a sign.
From light to language to signage, we used boxes of light to indicate the way and the services throughout the halls of the Halles de Schaerbeek.
The boxes are open, revealing what is happening in the backstage of the signage. Other signs are indicated on reused light globes, with a customized support, that brings back their purpose. To diffuse light.
Pictures and video by Joe Khoury Studio
Big up to Justine and Antoine ;)
A galvanized Era, chapter 2 - MAD LAB
HIER was asked by MAD Brussels to design the common and public spaces of the new residents’ ateliers in Rue du Vautour, a space dear to HIER’ heart, as it was founded in that very space, in 2017, when we, Thea and Thomas were residents at MAD.
HIER was asked by MAD Brussels to design the common and public spaces of the new residents’ ateliers in Rue du Vautour, a space dear to HIER’ heart, as it was founded in that very space, in 2017, when we, Thea and Thomas were residents at MAD.
A space reminiscing in traces, layers of time, renovations, additions, subtractions, now all merged, in one space, visible through a shift in tiles. A collage of moments in time reflected through a difference in language and materiality. An era of tiling of many sizes and colours, one of subtraction of walls and patching with concrete, one of additions of steel and glass separators. HIER wanted MAD too, to leave a trace in the space. To mark their presence with a galvanised language. As the space is made of a patch work of materials and colours itself, we wanted the additions to be monochromatic. A silver metallic look, that homogenises, modernises, lightens the space, and comes in many different specifications.
To source ourselves with materials, we dove into MAD Dansaert’s basement, full of relics, of projects past. We reclaimed all the wood we could and need, galvanised metal tubes from INSIDE STORIES, a past vitrine project HIER did for MAD, and other left-over galvanised metal sheets. All were part of a context once, that is lost, and now lie as orphans in the basement, ready to be found, in a new context. This idea of basement shopping was an obvious one, to avoid waste, to bring back elements from previous installations into the design loop, as a responsible choice, and because it allows us to actually build everything needed for the space even within the relatively small budget.
Formerly a day-care for the building, the space caters now for or a small entrance, and a design workspace at the ground floor, a fashion workshop, studios for the residents and a big common space on the first floor. The big common space has an open kitchen with a bar and is meant to have a double programme: a cantina on most days, and an exhibition on occasions. With an open programme comes the need for flexibility and various possibilities.
For the design workspace, we designed, produced, and installed a system of furniture, with rectangular galvanised metal tubes, some on wheels and some fixed. The surfaces were ones of reclaimed wood.
In the big common space, as a display/exhibition support, we installed a 50-meter-long rail running through the red- tiled circulation path, with curtains, hooks, and hanging metal sheets for display of mood boards or other prints. The rail came from the reclaimed basement steel.
The library was built with a different profile of the same material of finish: it is an assembly of two sizes of L-profiles juxtaposing and reclaimed wood for the surfaces, with lighting and pots designed by us but made in Beirut, by Coco El-Ballis, an artisan in metal turning. Tables for the cantina have foldable legs for flexibility and reclaimed laminated wood found at Rotor for the surfaces. We designed and produced benches on wheels from folded galvanised metal sheets, to serve both as seating for the canting or moving pedestals for exhibitions.
We freshend up the kitchen bar with a coat of galvanised sheets and wired glass. The movement in the red lighting is a wink to the graphic ceiling, noticeable by its maze of heating tubes running through. That same folded metal and wired glass appear again on two other occasions, up and down, as welcome signage walls.
We design knowing that we ourselves are producing and installing. Every detail is crafted and refined, to tell the same story, and for a logical assembly. In this project we handled all phases from design to production to installation; there, a hand-to-hand approach.
Pictures done by the handsome Joe Khoury
Time machine - La Yourte
An hourglass. An hour-tree. Sand running, leaving empty, the branches of that tree. Showing the time that has passed.
For a video of the project, please click hier.
Or check Auvio
Thank you @tipikrtbf + @andriendevyver_ for the images and footages.
On <3 la RTB
hub.awards2022
This is not a trophy. Not in a traditional sense anyway. It should not gather dust. It does not die on a shelve. It lives. It grows. It glows. Well no. It does not glow. But for sure evolves.
This is not a trophy. Not in a traditional sense anyway. It should not gather dust. It does not die on a shelve. It lives. It grows. It glows.
Well no. It does not glow. But for sure evolves.
3 parts it gathers. The pot/container. The personalised mini trophy/retainer. And the plant/of life.
To each category a symbolic plant. Carefully chosen.
Each plant grows in hand made pot, made in Brussels, with Belgian earth.
Around each plant's neck sits a mini personalised trophy, that retains water and feeds the life. Made just like the pot. With Belgian earth.
A project for hub.brussels
Ceramics: Esther Bapsalle
Pics and video: Joe Khoury Studio
Special thanks: Justine Guichard
The NeverEnding Story - L'Auberge Espagnole
A modular system for a flexible shop.
A shelf. A pegboard. A hanger.
Assemble. Dismantle. Re-mantle.
HUB-TOP-POP!
ONE SHOP FOR ALL.
Assemble. Dismantle. Re-mantle.
We were commissioned by hub.brussels to design, adapt and install, a system for a series of 12 pop-up stores, in different neighbourhoods in Brussels.
A modular system for a flexible shop.
And so we thought, defined the rules to the system, drew, developed and prototyped, to finally reach a first version, suitable for all:
A shelf. A pegboard. A hanger.
1 Structure. 3 Connectors with 5 add-on details. # Types of Merchants. 3 Display possibilities. In 1 Shop.
1 pop-up built. 11 more to go.
In POP-UP #1, structure is made with galvanised tubes, connectors and details printed with recycled PET, shelves are made of birch plywood, and pegboards out of laser cut and folded galvanised sheets.
For POP-UP #2, we left room for modifications. After all, we learn from POP-UP #, to then adjust, and improve.
In POP-UP 3 #, L'auberge Espagnol in Forest.
Pictures by Joe Khoury Studio and Luciana L. Schutz, video by Joe Khoury Studio
Loads of love - Wheel of Care
For WHEEL OF CARE we rethought the physical branding of this fast bike.
For WHEEL OF CARE we carefully rethought the physical branding of this fast bike.
We designed the frontal box and its accessories and the back tray that holds a rack bag that we carefully selected in shape and colour to give the best reference to paramedic tools.
The flag on the front accompanies, and tells, the story of ambulant care travelling through the city.
Professional pictures are from Bill Caron
Special thanks to Flora <3
ACE
While the main sign is composed of floating letters slightly offset from the facade surface, the secondary signage uses the same material, brass, as a sheet, more like three of them spreading along the grid of the elevation, caressing the entrance of the school.
A prime new image for a cool secondary school: a new signage, for a new logo. This project is the fruit of a collaboration with Jihane Chartouni and Mohammad Hosso on graphic branding.
HIER designed, produced and installed, the physical manifestation of this new colourful logo: a brass signage, monochromatic, putting forward the geometry of the new logo, its elegance, and juxtaposing it with the sobriety of the architectural standing of the facade.
While the main sign is composed of floating letters slightly offset from the facade surface, the secondary signage uses the same material, brass, as a sheet, more like three of them spreading along the grid of the elevation, caressing the entrance of the school, and hand painted by our recurrent collaborator Maks Signs. Brass is a material that evolves with time, matures, grows a patina of time.
Send you children there >>> ACE
Signs 4 hub.brussels
While KOKOTTE is a food incubator, L’Auberge Espagnole is a retail incubator. Both are projects set by HUB Brussels to help businesses test their ideas before investing big. Both are constant spaces, with shops and restaurants varying throughout the year.
A signage for pop-up hosts.
While KOKOTTE is a food incubator, L’Auberge Espagnole is a retail incubator. Both are projects set by HUB Brussels to help businesses test their ideas before investing big. Both are constant spaces, with shops and restaurants varying throughout the year.
The brief was to design a signage that has integrated lighting and that allows for change, and adapt to every new business. The signage has both a constant part and a variable one. While the white structure always remains, the two surfaces attached to it ever change.
Bruxelles Environnement
We have put together a product in progress that is manufactured in Brussels.
Context
Belexpo is an exhibition, by Bruxelles Environnement, about the environment, the city and the climate. It is mainly addressed to children from 10 to 14 years old.
This exhibition is highly interactive, very successful, and thus challenged and worn by its many mini-visitors.
For an ultimate experience of the exhibition, the visitors are given a watch to go over their wrists and that activates the many challenges of the exhibition. The watch allows the interaction between the visitors and the elements of the exhibition and is a crucial tool for Belexpo.
Bruxelles Environnement has witnessed a rapid degeneration of the bracelets holding the watches and could not access space parts to replace them with. Not that the replacement would have been smooth anyway. We have been asked to look into this problem, analyse it, and research to find a solution that listens to the needs of both the user and the staff handling the product everyday. The brief is to develop new bracelets for the watches of Belexpo
Product specifications
Adjustable
Easily fixed around the wrist
Respects hygiene conditions/ easily cleanable
Sustainable, long lasting, and easily replaceable.
Work in Progress
We have put together a product in progress that is manufactured in Brussels, partially by us, HIER, and partially by our recurrent collaborator, L’Ouvroir.
L’Ouvroir is an association located in the heart of Brussels. It is an initiative carried by people with disabilities wanting to be engaged and participate in their society. Together, despite their disabilities, they built a workshop where they undertake varied manual/productive activities.
They are producing the fabric part of the bracelet while we are modelling and 3D printing the details adapting to the existing watch and holding together the fabric bracelet.
For the fabric part of the bracelet, we chose Nylon. A recyclable strong plastic, resistant, and cleanable by machine. We have designed the 3D printed details in a way that allows the team to easily remove the nylon bracelet and clean it in a washing machine. This nylon bracelet has a Velcro sewn on it by l’Ouvroir making the bracelet easily fixable around the wrist of both an adult and a child; the velcro making the whole adjustable.
For the 3D printed parts, we have chosen to work with PLA which later becomes an industrial compost, recyclable. We have printed these parts in 5 different colours to facilitate recognising the charged watches from others. Those 3D printed parts are easily mountable and replaceable, making their maintenance smooth.
The design is adaptable, adjustable, and efficient. We chose to concentrate the production in Brussels, to make sure that the products are easily reproduced or repaired without any need for costly maintenance equipment. We have listened to the needs of our client, Bxl. Env., worked on different options, together with them and l’Ouvroir, to come up with this version of the product in process; the fruit of our triangular collaboration.
More information about:
Belexpo or Bruxelles Environnement
Antoine architectural finishes
A simple, sample story.
The story of a genuine sample meeting an architect, hoping to be caressed, kept, and then maybe chosen.
A simple, sample story.
The story of a genuine sample meeting an architect, hoping to be caressed, kept, and then maybe chosen.
We have spent sometime listening to the brand, to its lean towards the beautiful imperfections; to it’s raw/natural story, its textures, and wanted to reflect it in a simple sample that is different from others, and would attract and be kept by an architect who receives un-storable amounts of samples. A sample that is genuine, and therefore out of plaster, lightweight, imperfect, covered then with natural paint, Antoine's architectural finish. The sample has Antoine’s name embossed from its surface, waiting to be felt with the run of the fingers, poetic to the touch, just like Antoine's textures.
Collaboration with Joost Vanhecke
Photos by: Piet Goethals
One line. Two lines. A horizon line.
A library for Antoine. A display of a sample story. For a line of architectural finishes. For Milan design week. In the heart of a collaboration with collective BRUT.
The materials of the library _from dark to light, from heavy to light_ are steel for the structure and plaster coated with an Antoine finish for the shelves, just like the simple samples, only bigger.
The structure, an assembly of two frames, one straight one tilted, allows the samples to be displayed in a vertically tilted position, standing on one shelve while resting on the other.
Photos by: Eline Willaert
Photo by: Alexander Popelier
MIKO/MIKO Studio
A sign for MIKO/MIKO photography studio, inspired by Japanese Ramen restaurants
Brasserie de la Senne
Design a beer glass specifically for the brewery, one that is not picked from a catalogue
Design a beer glass specifically for the brewery, one that is not picked from a catalogue
A particular care should be given for the conservation of the foam
The straight sides of the glass (which is not common in beer glasses) is a “vitrine” for the beer
The converging neck tightens the aromas
The aim was to design a glass that is in between the calice of a special beer and the simple glass of the table beer, perfectly representing the philosophy of Brasserie de la senne, a beer for connoisseurs, without elitism.
Water Bank
A permanent fountain for the city of Brussels. Designed to stay. To resist. To promote Vivaqua tap water. As a drinking water.
A permanent fountain for the city of Brussels. Designed to stay. To resist. To promote Vivaqua tap water. As a drinking water.
The fountain is completely produced by the maintenance workshops of Vivaqua.
The design takes into consideration the maintenance, and all the parts are easily accessible and replaceable.
Photos by: MIKO/MIKO Studio
The water exit cannot be contaminated. The design provides surfaces for branding. And for tagging. And a step for children not be jumping.
