Arka is the Croatian edition of the larger association L’arche, which brings together people with and without disabilities. With the aim of integrating them all into society and increasing their level of independence, the members of Arka spend most of their time together, making friends, learning, but also making unique handicrafts, which are one of the sources of funding, along with donations.

The main goal was to put everything they make under a common brand. Since L’arche means “arka” in Croatian and the word brand is “marka”, we designed the brand “M’arka”. In addition to handicrafts, carefully designed lifestyle products such as T-shirts, canvas bags, hoodies, notebooks, bracelets and other items are produced under the M’arka brand, which help to maintain the independence of the association and raise awareness of the needs of people with disabilities.

Akra members spend most of their day doing all kinds of individual and group workshops that bring smiles to their faces. The smile is the highlight of the M’arka logo, and the extended version also conveys that M’arka is the “workshop of smiles”. In this way, we highlight that M’arka is not only a brand for trade goods, but also a brand for handicrafts. The colourful palette and the playful composition of the logo emphasise the positive tone of the brand and associate it even more with social entrepreneurship.

M’arka has just launched as a brand and still has a long way to go to gain recognition and loyal customers, but it is a step forward towards creating an equal opportunity society and non-profit brands with a clear purpose.