W Hotel
Bellevue, WA
We were chosen to develop the graphics, signage and wayfinding for the Lincoln Square expansion and began work on the five portions of the mixed-use, $1.7 bil project: office tower, retail podium, ultra-luxury residences, parking garage and a W Hotel.
A signature part of the hotel experience is to snap a selfie at the W placed at the hotel entry. Our client had a request, “When our guests send the photos to their friends, I want them to text back, Where the _ _ _ _ are you!?”
We imagined this as a unique to place landmark, incorporating the Pacific Northwest (PNW) themes established for the project – Lake House and the Seattle music scene. Each concept we designed incorporated the unique shape of the W, interpreting the themes in different ways.
A signature part of the hotel experience is to snap a selfie at the W placed at the hotel entry. Our client had a request, “When our guests send the photos to their friends, I want them to text back, Where the _ _ _ _ are you!?”
We imagined this as a unique to place landmark, incorporating the Pacific Northwest (PNW) themes established for the project – Lake House and the Seattle music scene. Each concept we designed incorporated the unique shape of the W, interpreting the themes in different ways.
Evergreen: a green and lush W, covered with live ivy
Beach Balls for the lake
Sheet music from PNW artists, folded into a W
Translucent PNW music album art
A lantern display: did you know there are people who are collectors?
After the first presentation, the client said, “How about a Bigfoot W”. We imagined it with ‘hairy’ Koosh balls.
The winner: extending the hotel’s Seattle music theme (Nirvana, Qunicy Jones, Paul Revere and the Raiders, the Kingsmen, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Ray Charles, Death Cab for Cutie, and Jimi Hendrix), we designed a W covered with 10,000 guitar picks. Any breeze will make the picks move. Instant selfie magnet.
