Longs Sans

Brief

During my time working on the Longs Drugs brand revival, I came to the conclusion that the brand needed a clear typeface that could stay true to its roots in Hawaii and pay respect to the culture by prioritizing ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi as part of everyday use.

Concept

Taking inspiration from modern utilitarian typefaces like Futura, Helvetica, Open Sans, and Proxima Nova, I developed LD Sans for the brand.

The goal was to create clear, legible type that could be used in serious communications like signage, announcements, and products while still working in more expressive situations like social media.

System

The second goal was making sure important parts of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi were built into the typeface by default. That included kahakō across multiple letters and a natural ʻokina rather than an apostrophe, so designers and users would not have to install another language setting, hunt for a different typeface, or create a makeshift workaround.

The system includes weight studies, body copy tests, signage, web modules, weekly ad studies, and ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi samples across the Longs retail environment.

Outcome

The project was a success, and Longs Drugs now uses the typeface across multiple platforms and campaigns. It gives the brand a professional, flexible type system that also respects the local language context it needs to serve.