Luxury Is In Each Detail
In early 2020, BRITAM got in touch with us regarding a project they were developing in the Kilimani area to further add to their already robust investment portfolio. A 18,000 square metres, 162 rooms, 279 bed high-end serviced apartment was in the works. The project had reached the pre-opening phase and they needed help putting the final touches in place, including signage. That is where we came in.
As a diversified financial services company, Britam made the strategic decision to partner with reputable, international operators to manage the serviced apartments in the long run. In this case, Britam appointed Ascott as the operator of the development.
The Ascott Limited is one of the leading international lodging owner-operators, with more than 700 properties in over 190 cities spanning more than 30 countries. Being such an established brand, they have very well laid out guidelines that dictate the look and feel of their properties all around the world. These brand guidelines are in place so as to ensure the premium touch they’re known for remains consistent, irrespective of location. Naturally, these guidelines extend to signage design and finish.
From The World To Kenya - Brand Guardianship
Given that The Ascott’s brand guidelines are generalised for their many properties in different regions around the world, we embarked on re-working some of the signage designs to fit a local context and comply with Kenyan signage design requirements and standards.
With the help of a reputable, international signage manufacturing company, we were able to come up with designs that were bespoke to the Somerset Westview property in Kilimani, without taking away from the Ascott brand image.
With the help of a reputable, international signage manufacturing company, we were able to come up with designs that were bespoke to the Somerset Westview property in Kilimani, without taking away from the Ascott brand image.
After consulting with stakeholders at The Ascott, the revised signage designs were approved. The next step was to map the signage to the relevant plotting points on the architectural drawings. This stage was of particular importance as it helped us work out the logic of which sign goes where, how far off the ground it should be and so on.
Once we made sure the logic was sound, we conducted multiple site visits to ensure the logic on paper translated to the real world. Keeping the guests in mind, we worked out how they would move through the property (both on the outside and on the inside) with the guidance of signage; making sure the proposed locations of the signs on site were clear, intuitively visible to the guests and contextually relevant.
With design and plotting points locked in, our signage partner was ready to commence manufacturing. Firstly, they sent us various samples of different sign types for approval.
As The Ascott did not have a local presence at the time, they relied heavily on our signage and design expertise to ensure the finished product would be of similar, if not greater, quality to the designs they had earlier approved. After multiple iterations, we settled on a quality, colour and finishing selection that best represents The Ascott brand.
Signage Installation and Inspection
As construction efforts were winding down, our signage partner began putting up the many internal and external signs on site. After each installation phase, we conducted an inspection to validate that the signs were installed accurately and were of the highest quality finish.
Launch
Somerset Westview Nairobi was successfully opened in early March 2022. It is the first investment made by The Ascott Limited in the East African region.
