This beautifully crafted little book caught my attention straight away on the shelf and I just couldn't resist adding it to my collection of books I probably don't need, but really do! I mean just look at it, the illustrations on the front cover alone are stunning and just wait till you see inside...
Meik Wiking, the CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen and author of this book aims to bring a little more Hygge to everyone's lives. Pronounced in many different ways, Wiking explains that the focus is not on how you say it, but how you feel it. This idea shaped the whole book, ensuring that it didn't only give the reader knowledge about what Hygge actually is, but that it makes you feel some of it as well.
'The Little Book of Hygge' is part of Penguin's Life series which is a new imprint gathering together experts in their field who share a passion for living well. Hamptons creative agency in Aberdeen worked with Penguin and Meik Wiking to put this publication together. Hamptons claim to be a brand shaping organisation and that is exactly what they achieved with this design, creating a recognisable style and colour palette with consistency across all 287 pages.
Hygge - pronounced ‘hoo-gah’ in Danish – is that cosy feeling you get from dark evenings, warm fires and good company. The double page spread below shows the Hygge manifesto; atmosphere, presence, pleasure, equality, gratitude, harmony, comfort, truce, togetherness and shelter. Some say that Hygge cannot be translated into other languages and although there isn't a direct translation in just one word, the English language for example has many words which, when combined, give the same feeling.
The book was heavily positioned for the gift market, so it had to be small, tactile and highly desirable. It had to reflect the warmth and wisdom of hygge, the effortlessness of Scandinavian style - and it had to stand out on the shelf. Personally, I think that Hamptons ticked every box.
The results speak for themselves. The book was a global success and one of Penguin Life’s top performing books that year. It was both a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller, and was translated into several different languages worldwide.