H is for HAMMALY
H is also for hope and help
Assuming that you already know the meaning behind HAMMALY, I want to utilize this platform to capture the branding behind the logo. This I believe, is probably a great way of defining who I am as a designer and co-founder of HAMMALY.
Binding principles of running a successful startup and good design
Paul Rand, Milton Glazer and Massimo Vignelli. They were my three design deities alongside Dieter Ram’s 10 Principles of Good Design when I first entered the world of Visual Communication in 2002.
14 years later, in the spring of 2016, along came HAMMALY. The business idea of being an Arabic Uber for deliveries was clear, however, designing the brand identity that captures the idea for me was unprecedented. Hence, I approached building HAMMALY the same way as I have been doing throughout my entire working life — by embodying the values of being innovative, useful, aesthetic, understanding, and honest.
Good design is honest: It does not make a product more innovative, powerful or valuable than it really is. It does not attempt to manipulate the consumer with promises that cannot be kept. — Dieter Rams
And there it is. This is what is behind the HAMMALY brand today. The hand to me means so many things: to help, to give, and to hope. We remind ourselves frequently at the office that the urban Hammalis of today are always at the center of what we do. As written on our website: Our vision is to change lives — our mission is to help. This is my hope for HAMMALY.
Understanding who we design for
Everything we design, is designed for something, if not for someone. Therefore knowing as much as possible about who we are designing for is invaluable. Solving the challenges and problems that the Hammalis will face became personal, their problems became our problems. Together we did food delivery, personal errands, and grocery runs as part of our live prototyping exercises — we learnt a lot, and the best part? We enjoyed it. Our users were satisfied with the experience, the Hammalis earned decent tips which made them happy, and we uncovered a bunch of insights that provided us with a good bearing of what to focus on next.
The journey ahead is long and there’s lots to do before any significant impact can occur. But before helping anyone else, we need to first gain help from others. Qatar is such a vibrant landscape as it attracts people from all around the world to grow the start up scene along with the backing from local organizations. I am truly grateful for all the support and help that we’ve received through people around us. My greatest hope for HAMMALY is to be able to bring people closer together with meaningful connections through the platform we are building. With your support, I have good faith that we will get there.
Be a part of this community
We are currently operational, offering our same-day delivery service to a number of stores at City Center, Doha. So the next time you pay the mall a visit and require someone to take your shopping home for you, think HAMMALY!
Reach out to us: On Twitter, Facebook or Email and let us know what are the products you’d like to be delivered to your home.
Stay tuned: Next week, you’ll hear from Ahmed Al Kindy, one of our Product Managers.
If you liked our story and want to see us grow, be sure to click that green heart at the bottom and recommend us to your friends. Have a great week!
