Description

Challenge
Restore the bathhouse’s sacred meaning and build a modern wellness brand that unites tradition with contemporary lifestyles.
Insight & Strategy
In post-Soviet culture, the bathhouse lost its sacred role and became entertainment.
Insight: people pursue restoration in retreats and Western wellness while overlooking their own tradition, whose original meaning has faded.
Strategy: TerenSai revives the bathhouse as a “place of power” for spiritual and physical rebirth, with a philosophy built around the five senses. The naming (“deep gorge”) symbolizes immersion into oneself.
Creativity of the Solution
An identity “created by nature itself.” The logo emerged from the vibration of water and the gorge’s geometry; the visual language avoids folkloric clichés, conveying purity and rebirth. In motion, the mark “breathes” like steam. The five-senses philosophy spans architecture, service, cuisine, and aromatherapy.
Craft / Production
Historical research was conducted; logo prototypes were developed via water/steam simulations; sounds of water and fire were transformed into graphics through kinematics. A typographic system and modular grid were defined, with tactile/visual codes and production guidelines. Integration covered spatial and digital environments (wayfinding, uniforms, motion, and a website with clear UI/UX principles). All solutions were consolidated into a scalable brand book.
Effectiveness
The identity made TerenSai’s philosophy tangible, repositioning the bathhouse as a space of tradition and healing and delivering a modern wellness experience rooted in cultural heritage.
Innovation
A first for the region: a multisensory brand platform of the five senses and an identity born from natural vibrations, built in collaboration with experts from archaeology to gastronomy.

Credits

Simple Studio Team:
Creative Director: Sergey Tyurin
Art Director: Daniil Mamontov
Lead Designer: Nikita Chuvaldin
Creative Research Intern: Ailyn Salybekova
Other designers: Danaya Hamitova, Yelena Zhailaubay
Creative Producer and Copywriter: Aleksandr Shonin
Strategy: Aleksandr Shonin
Motion Graphic: Nikita Chuvaldin
Video-editor: Nikita Chuvaldin
Project Manager: Yan Ishoev

TerenSai Team:
Research & Cultural Experts: Elina Altyn
Main Idea and Founder: Arsen Zhanabekov
SPA and Sauna Expert: Andrey Poltoratskikh 
Archaeologist, restorer, cultural consultant: Krym Altynbekov 
Ethnographer and Cuisine Consultant: Aigerim Musagazhinova
Project Manager: Galima Aizharikova