HOD SPOTS
Heats. Organizes. Distributes.
With HOD SPOTS, waste heat projects can be implemented decentrally.
Time
2022/2023
Client/Setting
Master Strategic Design 1
Tools
Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects
Link
Credits
Adis Ahmetasevic
Julia Mühleisen
Role
Research, Interviews, Ideation, UX, Scriptwriter, Video filming and editing
Concept summary
HOD SPOTS is the agency for waste heat projects. According to the motto “Heats. Organizes. Distributes.", we strategically integrate waste heat sources decentrally in the municipalities so that the waste heat can be used efficiently in the surrounding area for the common good and everyone involved can benefit from it.
To this end, we offer a mediation platform as an interface as well as an all-round service to advise and support users in researching, planning and implementing waste heat projects.
Research
In addition to extensive research into the sustainability of data centers, their locations and the existing challenges in urban areas, we also conducted interviews with experts in the fields of data centers, cloud computing and municipal heat planning.
Research excerpts
Key-findings
Prejudices in the data center industry
- High investment costs supposedly make waste heat utilization uneconomical.
- Lack of customers for waste heat is another problem.
Facts from the interviews
- Waste heat recovery pays for itself through energy savings and high electricity costs in Germany.
- Heat networks in Germany are underdeveloped and outdated, so direct use in the surrounding area makes more sense.
Role of the municipalities
- Municipal heat planning requires the creation of a cadastre of waste heat sources and sinks.
- Lack of information on data center locations makes cooperation difficult.
Importance of edge data centers
- Growing importance due to digitalization and smart city developments.
- Economic viability for data center owners still unclear.
- Decentralized data centers make ecological sense, especially for waste heat recovery.
Ideation
In our ideation phase, in addition to developing “How Might We” questions and personas, we also analyzed our customer segments. In doing so, we mapped our user groups and stakeholders in a comprehensive map.
How might we...?
...
bring waste heat from the producers to the users?
...
place edge data centers unobtrusively and in a space-saving manner in urban areas?
...
ensure communication between the various stakeholders?
...
make stakeholders aware of the importance of waste heat utilization?
...
approach waste heat projects in the most resource-efficient way possible?
Concept
HOD SPOTS is the agency for waste heat projects. According to the motto “Heats. Organizes. Distributes.", we strategically integrate waste heat sources decentrally in the municipalities so that the waste heat can be used efficiently in the surrounding area for the common good and everyone involved can benefit from it.
To this end, we offer a mediation platform as an interface as well as an all-round service to advise and support users in researching, planning and implementing waste heat projects.
USP
We offer holistic support.
We have a social focus for the general public.
We cover the services collectively.
Phase 1
We are a central point of contact.
In the first phase of our concept, customers can find out more about HOD SPOTS and sign up for their own waste heat projects. We record the current status and form a match, focusing on the use of waste heat from data centers. This phase serves to create awareness, arouse interest and establish a basis for further projects.
Our free matching platform allows customers to register and express their interest in waste heat projects. This helps us to gather initial information and data. After registration, a fee-based status quo analysis is carried out to identify potential for waste heat recovery and decentralized data centers on site.
Our target group primarily includes data centers, but also municipalities, property owners and other interested parties. In addition to the status quo analysis, we also offer ecological consulting for data centers, which includes suggestions for energy efficiency measures.
The advantages for our customers in phase 1 are a cost-effective introduction to waste heat recovery and decentralization, initial information on their options and the cost-effectiveness of the project. By communicating the potential of phases 2 and 3, we want to get cities and citizens excited about waste heat from data centers.
Matching platform
Phase 2
In phase 2, we implement our customers' waste heat projects, taking on the planning, coordination, implementation and communication between the stakeholders. The focus remains on the use of waste heat from data centers.
The concept builds on phase 1, so the platform, status quo analyses and match-building remain central components.
We integrate data centers in urban areas and use the waste heat where little conversion is required, e.g. in schools, care homes, railroad station concourses or shopping centers, to heat water and buildings and to cool rooms.
We are the main point of contact throughout the entire project, from conversion and moving in to the realization of waste heat utilization, and also offer maintenance and service. Our 12-step plan ensures a smooth process so that our customers can concentrate on their core tasks.
Our aim is to locate data centers decentrally in cities and ensure that waste heat is used efficiently through our all-round service.
HOD SPOTS in 12-steps
Phase 3
Connected through HOD SPOTS
In phase 3, we are expanding the integration of waste heat in cities and further expanding our company. We are opening up new areas of application so that waste heat can now also be used in public baths, greenhouses, gyms, public sanitary facilities and student residences in order to reach as many citizens as possible.
We are expanding our range of services to include the planning and implementation of new construction projects to supply entire city districts with the waste heat from a data center, both for heating and cooling.
Our target group now also includes other energy-intensive companies in order to promote the expansion of waste heat utilization in urban areas.
Our aim is to contribute to the heat transition by utilizing unused waste heat from industry and to promote sustainable, future-oriented cities so that the general public can benefit.
Website
The HOD SPOTS website combines extensive information about the company and visual insights with the opportunity to register as a HOD SPOTS participant in order to get the chance to be matched.
When designing the information, it was important to explain early on what HOD SPOTS is and what service we offer in order to convey transparency and clarity, while always maintaining a regional, human touch. Using the example of Schwäbisch Gmünd, visitors can see a real example project, learn about the process, find out which beneficiaries are united and have the opportunity to contact our management directly.
Website
Poster campaign
City-Light posters will be used to bring HOD SPOTS to the streets of municipalities and cities. The basic idea is to address all beneficiaries. This gave rise to the idea of a serial campaign. Real estate owners, waste heat consumers (e.g. schools), citizens, local authorities and data centers will be addressed. A changing headline, suitable for each target group, formulates a statement in the form of a benefit. The design is unmistakably in the corporate colors to ensure cohesion and recognizability.
The posters will initially be used in smaller towns, such as Schwäbisch Gmünd, wherever many people come together, such as at the train station.
Poster campaign
Values
Security
Responsible
Reliability
Discretion
Efficiency
Trustworthy
Sustainability
Helpfulness
Cohesion
Cooperation
Justice
Harmony
Regional
Human
Expertise
Behavior
Strong negotiator
Foresighted
Structured
Efficient
Holistic
Sustainable
Calm
Confident
Communication
Eloquent
All-rounder
Communicative
Transparent
Regional
Trustworthy
Serious
Transparent
Secure
Look
Design and visual appearance
Before the visual design of our corporate identity and the implementation of our platform, we gathered inspiration as a team with the help of a mood board.
On the one hand, this allowed us to compare our ideas for the visual representation of our company. On the other hand, the mood board provided us with support for the subsequent implementation of the visual design.
Name and Slogan
The first version of the name was Hot Spots. This is an allusion to a physical place that is at the center of something or draws attention to itself. From a literal point of view, due to the waste heat, it is actually a hot spot, which makes the name doubly appropriate for the project.
In order to gain more independence, we decided to change "HOT" to "HOD". In addition, this independence makes legal protection of the name more likely.
The slogan "More than hot air" was initially on our shortlist. However, we then rejected it as we wanted to use a functional slogan that provides more information about our service and appears less " foggy".
As our type of service is relatively unknown in Germany, we want to achieve greater clarity in our external communication. "Heats. Organizes. Distributes." was created in relation to the three letters in the name HOD, which therefore took on the function of an acronym.
Logo
Logo
The logo is a word mark in which the "O" has been modified to symbolize a location icon in a minimalist way. We deliberately split up the word mark, as not separating the two words ("HODSPOTS") would lead to the problem of mistakenly reading "HODS POTS". This also creates a distinction between our acronym HOD and the rest of the logo.
Logo on colored surfaces
Color
As HOD SPOTS deals with waste heat and cooling, we decided on a warm-cold contrast to match. Several tests were carried out for both tones. For the red tone, we varied between a magenta tint and a yellow tint or an intermediate tone to red and orange in order to create a distance to a standard red. The blue was initially in the same brightness level, but the two tones competed with each other in a flickering contrast, which meant that we made the blue more muted and darker. This warm-cold contrast, combined with a light-dark contrast, allows the final red-orange to stand out more clearly and avoids a flickering contrast.
Color variants
Final colors
Images
Whenever possible, we use imagery that naturally contains a striking red element to create a global cohesion, but also a link to the logo. In addition, a red and / or blue fade spot is incorporated into the image where necessary to create a warm-cold contrast as a stylistic device that is unmistakably representative of HOD SPOTS.
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