Human Group

As the Human Group experienced rapid growth and increasing diversification, it became necessary to define a distinctive business domain that could unify all of its operations across education, staffing, and care services.

In collaboration with MetaDesign, a leading branding agency based in Germany, AXHUM began by conducting in-depth group interviews to uncover the latent needs and psychological drivers of customers. These insights formed the basis for defining the group’s brand promise and overarching brand concept.
AXHUM then led the comprehensive restructuring of the group’s business portfolio, the development of a new brand architecture, and the creation of a unified logo and visual identity system. We also managed the end-to-end design of all brand touchpoints and supported internal brand engagement to ensure seamless implementation across the organisation.

Mission

The Human Group was experiencing rapid, self-propelling growth, expanding across multiple business areas at an accelerating pace. However, this momentum risked causing the group’s identity to fragment, as the direction of its various businesses began to diverge.
The primary challenge of the branding project was therefore to embed a unifying core value at the heart of a group driven by strong centrifugal forces—establishing a shared sense of identity, coherence, and direction across all its companies.
A second, equally critical challenge was to shift the group’s marketing approach from a flow-based, push-oriented model to a stock-based model—one that would attract stakeholders organically through the strength and appeal of the Human brand itself. The goal was to redefine the brand in a way that would create long-term engagement and trust.

Solution

The branding project for the Human Group began with in-depth group interviews involving both current and prospective customers. These sessions explored not only how people perceived the brand and what they expected of it, but also the deeper psychological drivers connected to personal growth, learning, career aspirations, and participation in society.
Based on these findings, AXHUM identified five distinct “career personality” segments, each defined by their unique attitudes, values, and decision-making triggers when selecting educational and employment pathways. These insights were cross-analysed with the group’s core strengths and resources, leading to the articulation of a new brand promise:
“Human SELFing – Self-discovery and Self-realisation.”

AXHUM partnered with MetaDesign, a Berlin-based branding firm originally formed by a collective of designers at the time of German reunification. Known for its work with leading German companies such as Volkswagen, Audi, and Siemens, MetaDesign brought a unique methodology for developing brand concepts, visual language, and aesthetic systems that aligned closely with the Human Group’s ambitions.

Through ongoing collaboration between Berlin and Tokyo, the joint team explored the social challenges unique to Japan and crafted a compelling brand story rooted in Human’s distinctive identity. This process included a comprehensive audit and strategic reorganisation of the group’s diverse businesses, followed by the development of both individual business brand strategies and an integrated group-wide brand system.