PROJECT SUMMARY:
The Leela Group Of Hotels is a chain of luxury hotels with properties across the cultural hubs of India. The design language of each hotel is derived from the character of the city it is situated at.
The attempt was hence to study the character of the city of Calcutta and imbibe it into the design guidelines and the visual grammar of The Leela- Calcutta as well as derive a pattern reflective of the city's character.
PROJECT EXECUTION:
The first thoughts were about the idea of a getaway and hospitality being a 'change' and relating it to the vibe of Calcutta. With a rich history of change and revolution, Calcutta is known to be the intellectual capital of India. From the establishment of the East India Company,to the first rebellions of the Indian freedom struggle, to the festivities, to the grace, to the intellectual revolutions- Calcutta as a city is known for anything and everything that means the beginning of 'change'. A pattern merging this thought and the folk art, dye-printing of West Bengal was then developed. The colour palette of the city was based on the mood of elements the city is known for to develop guidelines on colour.
Deriving the colour palette:
The pattern was a visual amalgamation of the delicate folk dye art and a chain reaction of domino's tiles to link the thought of the city being the beginning of change, just like it goes with getaways and hospitality where a 'change' from the usual begins.
Guidelines for placement with the logo:
The derived pattern was then adapted into all the core elements like environmental graphics, furniture, decor, staff apparel and other collaterals.
GUIDELINES FOR CREATIVES AND IMAGERY:
In order to avoid monotony in the style of creatives for the brand and art direction, experimental collage style of showing imagery was developed as the city is the intellectual capital of India and the people are known to develop their own individual opinion out of bits and pieces of reality which they see.
Similarly, to show images of the property or still photography, the method of risography was used to print the images as a risograph decodes a different view and mood of the image from what the real image is- much like the character of the city.
As West Bengal was the first state to fight the colonial rule and Calcutta was the city with the most revolutionaries, the visual guidelines for celebrating Independence day and national festivals consisted of a different pattern and style of creatives, confining to the same colour palette and fonts. The pattern minimally denotes the freedom struggle where the masses revolted against the royal powers of the colonial rule.
UI/UX DESIGN:
The designed digital experience was for a mobile app which guests could download to book various utilities (not included in the cost of the stay) of the hotel like banquet brunches, day tours, river cruises etc arranged by the hotel.
To interact with a clickable prototype, click this link: https://xd.adobe.com/view/afda59c3-0574-40c1-b602-65b85290cc6c-fa89/?fullscreen