Oura
Oura is a contemporary end-of-life planning service that facilitates more open conversations around death, supporting people in the final stages of life to curate physical and digital legacy keepsakes that celebrate individuality, preserve memories and encourage lasting moments of connection for those left behind.
Seeking to challenge the overwhelmingly sombre way death is traditionally presented, the brand strategy asked a wider question: what is grief and why does it exist at all? The emerging concept ‘Love, remembering’ reframes grief as an enduring expression of love, persisting beyond life. Research into grief rituals across the animal kingdom became integral to the project’s development, revealing mourning behaviours that suggest remembrance and emotional attachment are far more widespread than we often imagine, and that grief is one of the most natural and universal expressions of love we experience.
The extraordinary empathy and prolonged grieving rituals observed within elephant herds became a key point of interest, forming a metaphorical foundation for a brand that protects long-lasting connections beyond physical absence. This thinking informed a flexible visual language, uniting elephant and human forms as both symbolic and functional devices. Individually, these abstract graphic shapes create softer moments of visual interaction throughout the brand, gently framing imagery and holding more sentimental messaging. When connected they reveal a larger illustration, allowing Oura to shift between more playful expressions of connection and quieter moments of remembrance and reflection.
The wider brand system combines nostalgic photographic treatments with an uplifting tonal palette, earthy textures and tactile print finishes, delicately balancing emotional tenderness with warmth and optimism, for a brand experience centred on celebration, remembrance and enduring human connection.
Strategy | Brand Identity | Illustration | Art Direction | Copywriting
