Clics Coliving

A Brand Rooted in Community: How Clics Coliving Set Me Up in the South

Step One: Taking a Brief, Finding a Home

Back in 2020, I got a brief to brand a coliving space in Hiriketiya. On paper it was a logo and an identity, so I packed my tablet and went. I didn’t realise that this project would be the anchor that kept me in the South: the sun, the surf, and a community of creatives who were all chasing the same slightly unconventional dream.

Step Two: Figuring Out What “Clics” Actually Means

Before I drew anything, I had to understand the name. Clics comes from two ideas. One is the clique, the tight little group you somehow form with people you met three days ago over a shared surfboard. The other is the click, that small sound of a mouse that pays for the whole lifestyle.

That was the core of it. Clics is a place where people come to work and end up staying for the community: morning surf, focused coworking hours, sunsets at the TukTuk Bar, and starting over again the next day. The brand had to feel like that whole rhythm in one glance.

Step Three: Hiding Things in Plain Sight

I have a soft spot for Easter eggs in logos, the hidden details that make a mark more meaningful the longer you look at it. With Clics, everything lined up.

At first glance, the logo is a sunset over the waves, the most Hiriketiya image there is. Look closer and the word CLICS is woven into the scene.

The difficult part was making every shape do two jobs. A wave also had to work as a letter, and a sun also had to sit comfortably as part of a word. If I leaned too heavily on the type, the illustration became stiff. If I leaned too heavily on the illustration, nobody would ever find the word. Getting the balance right took many rounds of nudging curves by tiny amounts, then stepping back and squinting.

Step Four: Building the World Around the Logo

A logo by itself isn’t a brand, so the identity grew out from the mark around three ideas:

• Community and connection: subtle visual nods to networks and shared experiences, the way nomads find each other and stick together.
• Adventure and nature: a palette taken straight from the coastline, with golden-hour oranges, surf blues, and sandy neutrals.
• Digital and travel: a sense of modernity and movement for people whose office is wherever the wifi is strong enough.

Together these make it playful but professional and relaxed but structured, which is also a fair description of a good week at Clics.