Lighting the way. HeadHunter

HeadHunter is one of the largest HR platforms in Russia. Until recently, it was primarily associated with office recruitment. But the platform has begun to expand, offering opportunities for young professionals and blue-collar workers. The visual system had to support this expansion — help the brand speak to audiences in their familiar language and remain recognisable to existing ones.

We began with research: our colleagues from Signal (part of ONY) conducted a brand audit and a series of interviews with employers and job seekers. Based on this, in collaboration with hh.ru, we formulated the brand’s key message: "Job and employee search is a labor-intensive process where it’s easy to get lost, and hh.ru lights the way in this search."

The concept behind the new visual style of hh.ru is the result of a collaborative effort: the in-house team of hh.ru proposed the foundational idea — illuminating the path — and it was developed into a visual system that we created. The main expressive element is light. It shapes the logic of the entire identity: highlighting the key elements, setting accents, and aiding navigation. Scenes are constructed based on the principle: background, object, light source. This approach works everywhere: from interfaces to outdoor advertising, from photos to illustrations. Light can be intensified, diffused, and its angle and density can be adjusted — allowing for tonal control and scaling the system for different tasks. The photographic style follows the same principles as the graphics: light directs attention within the frame. We’ve built a system with a smooth gradation — from abstract 3D scenes to object-focused and portrait photography. Within this framework, the tonality can vary: from rich contrasts to neutral beige and sunlit hues. The light may be sharp or diffused, but it always plays an active role in the scene.

The visual system is complemented by illustrations — they continue the idea of light in the plots, and the traces of hatching in the background make the style a little more handcrafted. Specifically for HeadHunter, we created the hh sans font. We were inspired by early 20th-century American grotesque fonts with their slight asymmetry, lively shapes and dense rhythm. The font creates a lively, slightly rough, very human image. The font includes three text styles and a bright display style that works well in headlines. Support for extended Latin, Cyrillic, and Georgian alphabets makes it a universal tool for brands with a broad geographical reach.

Based on the font, a set of 204 icons in two states has been developed. They repeat the oval shape of the font and develop its logic in friendly visuals.

When the basis of the style was ready, we put together a winter campaign. The light remains the same, but now it falls on a snowy surface. The logo turned into a snowflake, and we also sculpted the interface elements out of snow. The system easily picked up on this mood — all we had to do was change the context to launch a new message.

We have managed to build an identity in which everything works like a stage: light, object, accent. Within this system, the brand can communicate with different people, adapt to new scenarios and remain true to itself.