This was a conceptual rebranding project of a hotel in Tokyo known as the Peninsula Hotel. I thought it would interesting to create a hotel experience that reflected the duality of Japanese culture; a country technologically and culturally advanced, yet adhering to and revering their rich history. This is an exploration into that idea, where I use kanji forms to create iconic forms, and mixing faux woodblock designs with modern type treatments. Here's a look at some of my ideas.
The logo is based off the kanji form for gate. I wanted to utilize a royal red color to help reinforce the high end image of the hotel.
One of the things I wanted to test out was a combining of line drawings with color palettes found amongst wood block prints. Using iconic Japanese printer Hiroshige as a point of reference, I went about finding the right colors for the environment.
The text and logo placement is a mirrored representation of the seals of ownership usually found on the sides of a print.
That illustration was later used as the front of my postcard as well to promote the hotel's grand opening.
The back of the postcard.
These represent the signage found within the hotel to mark various areas of the establishment. These are also kanji forms that describe the location as well. Cafe Haiku is a combination of the two words, with the letter placement becoming symmetrical, yet still spelling out the restaurant.
A look at the interior space found at the Cafe Haiku. The restaurant is a high end dining experience serving up a cuisine that fuses French and Japanese entrees.
These are the cars used by the hotel to pick up various customers from the airport/ train station. They are a smaller model of car to accommodate the tight quarters of the city and to ensure the company has space to house their entire motor pool appropriately.
