The luxury hotel market has been shifting the past decade and hotels are trying to cater to the shifting needs of the sophisticated 21st century high net-worth traveler. The challenge for the project was to explore fresh, unique approaches that defines opulence and indulgence. The brand identity consists of a graphic identity logo, website, stationery, keycard and sleeve, welcome chocolates, door signage and premium body care products furnished by Fleur de Sel.

The resort’s logomark was first inspired by the organic Paris Metro signage that was created by French architect Hector Guimard at the beginning of the 20th century. One can still see Guimard’s personal style of harmony and continuity from the Art Nouveau era when they visit the subway stations he designed in Paris.

The seahorse is one of nature’s beautiful creatures from the sea. With its organic curves, the balance and harmony becomes the foundation of Les Grandes Marées distinguished signature.

During the discovery phase for the resort's new mark, handmade sketches were drawn in the Procreate app on the iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil. These sketches were later imported into Adobe Illustrator for refinement. In keeping with the resort's oceanic theme, elements such as waves, curves, shells and sea life were taken into consideration for the logo. 

TYPOGRAPHY

COLOR

An important aspect of the whole project was the carefully curated paper stock that went into each of the final pieces of the finished product. Texture and weight were elemental to the successful impression to the end-user.  

STATIONERY & BUSINESS CARDS

Each business card is handmade with five sheets of cardstock paper to replicate a 32pt layered card. The five layers are printed, cut, lined-up and glued together. The front and back consists of fine linen cardstock that gives the card a nice textured touch while the inside utilizes a different color cardstock to give the illusion of color seams.

FOILING

Handmade foiling was done through a 3-step process. First, color was applied onto the paper stock with a professional grade inkjet printer. Next, any section that was to-be foiled in the finished product was sent through a laser printer. Finally, foil is applied on top of the laser printed area and is sent through a heated laminator to bond the foil to the laser toner.

The NFC-enabled keycard design for each suite went through many iterations as well. The final design incorporated a subtle background pattern with the hotel's iconic logo center-staged. The sleeve's circular cutout was designed to adapt with the card's logo as it resembles the "window" to endless possibilities a person of royalty can experience while staying at the resort.

The initial idea behind the sliding box sleeve was inspired by an old pencil case lying around. The motive behind the design was to give the element of surprise to each guest as they slowly unravel a small token from France in the palm of their hands. The box went through several prototypes before arriving at the finished piece. The final piece was constructed with a lustrous linen and rose gold cardstock. For the final touch, thin vellum-like paper was sent through a laser printer with foil to wrap around the box.

The resort has partnered with Fleur de Sel in providing guests with a collection of soaps and hair care products that are made with fine sea salt. The selection process for the bottles... to the color palette of the seal... went through several iterations to analyze overall sentiments. In the end, the blue bottles were selected to resemble the ocean and give the sense of "freshness." While a creamy vanilla was selected over the pastel pink for the label seal to provide a sense of "purity" as all of the body care products are 100% natural.