Hoiana Resort Brand Strategy + Identity Refresh, Brand Toolkit
+ Rewards Program
PROJECT LEAD / ART DIRECTOR
As Vietnam's first and finest integrated resort, Hoiana combines a fantastic beachside location and centuries-old tradition with sophisticated elegance and vibrant entertainment. Opening its doors in 2020, the resort includes with world class entertainment and dining facilities, a championship golf course, luxurious accommodations managed by Rosewood Hotel Group, as well as a casino, luxury mall, and MICE facilities. A fast growing venture, it has been pushing against the bounds of its branding, and the time has come to refresh and evolve the visual identity to suit bigger opportunities and larger international audiences.
BRAND STRATEGY + CREATIVE CONCEPT
As always, strategy is the starting point. I worked with Brand Strategist and Hospitality Specialist Lisha Klopper who reviewed the post COVID landscape, navigate new challenges, and identify the core strategy opportunity. I then engaged Creative Copy Director Royce Akers to develop a creative approach, brand tagline and narrative.
BRAND DESIGN
With 5 years of existing brand recognition and legacy, the status of Hoiana as a Master Brand, as well as understanding the difficulty of rebranding hotel in operation, clients and I decided to retain the wordmark. Instead I updated the brandmark, typography, and spacing to modernise the logo while maintaining its recognisability.
I was also tasked with updating the brand colour palette to better reflect the vibrancy of the property. Inspired by a line from Royce — that brand design should communicate what it's like to be there — I was inspired by real elements of the environment, from the sandy beaches, native foliage found on the grounds, details of the room design and decor, to the wide varety of guest amentities available.
BRAND SYSTEM GUIDELINES
As third-party communication, marketing, and sales stakeholders are key in this industry, developing a brand system that provides flexibilty and ease of use is paramount. The Brand System provides clear and intuitive guidelines to brand execution, and design inspiration across a wide variety of touchpoints. The Brand Guidelines include topline strategy, tagline, and narrative, brand design elements including logo design and usage, colours, and typography, tone of voice and communications guidelines, image guidelines,
BRAND WORLD
Also included is a wide variety of composition, design, layout, and application ideas, to showcase the flexibilty of the Brand System, and provide inspiration for those working in the brand.
BRAND COLLATERAL TOOLKIT
I was also engaged with developing a comprehesive suite of operational Brand Collateral, including poser templates, name cards, gift vouchers and welcome cards, various stationary, and digital banners.
WEBSITE UPDATE
Throughout the brand evolution process I also provided visual direction for the official website redesign, and brought Creative Copy Director Royce Akers back to update the copy and content for the refresh.
Royce and I were also tasked with reconcepting and redesigning the existing Hoiana Rewards Program (critical for any hospitality brand) to fit its new brand theme and narrative. We went with an exploration theme, and used colours from the new brand palette for quick recognition.
It was an absolute honour to visit and work with the team of Vietnam's pre-eminent integrated resort. We matched their need with urgency and have been gratified to see our work go live with passion and alacrity.