Hamburg’s secret landmark
Lasting (sustainable) love
Our Astra heart-anchor logo. Not only an unchanged iconic trademark for over 20 years but also Hamburg’s secret landmark and the city’s most famous tattoo motif. Lasting and long-living. Whether it is a beer crate logo or a permanent illuminated display. This is how love becomes sustainable.
The comeback of the ASTRA brand is inextricably linked with the ‘Herzanker’. The logo we designed in 2000 has anchored the brand deeply in the soul of Hamburg.
We developed it based on the lifestyle of its Hamburg neighborhood: the heart is a symbol of joie de vivre in an environment that pulsates day and night, and the anchor is a sign of the deep connection with the local harbor. Combined to form an unmistakable icon: A heart, an anchor, a smile.
Today, the heart-anchor is one of the most distinctive logos of German beer brand landscape. It feels as if it has always been there. It has become the Hamburgers’ tattoo for their favorite city. It is so simple that anyone can draw it with their finger in the sand on the Elbe beach.
Astra is pure longevity. Therefore, it is also a good story of sustainability. Because a logo that remains unchanged for over two decades extends the use of all permanent advertising media: from beer crate logos to indoor and outdoor illuminated displays and beer glasses. This conserves resources, avoids waste, and shows that what lasts stays good.
“We wanted to stay away from standard design relaunch routines: What if we could create a new sign, a new symbol that looks as if it has always been part of the original culture of the city and the Astra brand? That people could wear naturally as a tattoo on their skin. A new symbol to replace the interchangeable brand elements and reach the places where people shape the city's identity: In clubs, bars, the snack bars, and the backyards on the Kiez.”
Arne Schultchen
