Hotel Sorrento
Identity, Physical, Digital, Environmental
Summary
The Hotel Sorrento first opened its doors in 1909. We rebranded this Seattle landmark to mirror its timeless features and to live up to its role as a cultural hub in the Seattle literary community.
Background
The Hotel Sorrento opened at the tail–end of art nouveau and just before the Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition, a world’s fair held in Seattle to highlight the development of the Northwest. In the last century the hotel has seen many changes, but it has always remained a cultural hub and held strong ties to Seattle’s literary community.
Organization Type
Hotel, Hospitality, Historic Landmark
Assignment
Design an identity that plays homage to the grand history of the Sorrento, and create a website that is easy to use for booking stays and viewing events.
Client
Hotel Sorrento
Years
2015 — Ongoing
Location
Seattle, WA USA
Approach
In creating the identity and branding for the hotel, we wanted to enliven the spirit of this Seattle landmark and drive home its uniqueness with a fitting-mascot. For inspiration we studied vintage publishing house colophons and matched a shade of green drawn from a vintage book cover. The Sorrento attracts the movers and shakers from the arts community, patrons who dress to be seen and speak to be heard — evoking the spirit of a peacock. We were also inspired by the mythology of the peacock — its tail holding the many eyes of the cosmos and acting as a symbol of immortality — which pays homage to the hotel’s impressive longevity.
In creating the website we envisioned a seamless mobile–first experience that allowed patrons to easily and quickly reserve a room, navigate their way through the Sorrento’s event offerings and introduce them to the hotel’s incredible story. We reorganized and restructured the web content to ultimately create a simple and clean user experience.
Research
Vintage publishing colophons, Mythology, Art Nouveau, Aubrey Beardsley
Reach
- The Hotel Sorrento identity won the 2016 International HOW Logo Design Awards
Components
Art Direction, Identity Manual, Print Collateral System, Digital Collateral System, Environmental Graphic System, Promotional Print Materials, Strategy, User Experience Design, User Interface Design and Development, CMS Development, Responsive Design
Technical Specs
HTML, CSS, Javascript, AJAX, WordPress
Team
Principal: Michael Ellsworth
Principal: Corey Gutch
Creative Direction: Gabriel Stromberg
Web Development: Shaun Kardinal
Account Management: Elise Carlson
A mascot was created to express the rich history and eccentricities of this Seattle landmark.
