Design Challenge and Design Ideas

The Brief
The Montenotte is a unique urban resort, nestled within a luscious oasis overlooking Cork City. It boasts design-led hotel rooms, homey self-catering apartments as well as luxurious private cabins and woodland suites unlike anything else in Ireland. The property also offers a cinema, spa and gin bar plus a number of dining options. Following significant investment and refurbishment, The Montenotte needed a refreshed visual identity firmly aligned with its business goals and ambitions:

• Become the leading independent, urban hotel resort in Ireland
• Change the current perception of what The Montenotte is all about
• Shift the masterbrand from the corporate look & feel to elegant, high-end leisure, in line with the style and personality of the property
• Create an overarching identity that unifies the eclectic mix of offers in order to build
  and bolster domestic and international brand awareness

How the brief was fulfilled

The Solution
We carved out a unique space for The Montenotte as an Urban Paradise. A property with the best of both worlds: the hustle and bustle of Cork City, tucked away in a tranquil oasis.

Our refreshed design solution retained the bold sans serif type treatment of the brand name, the hotel’s most recognisable visual asset. The brandmark was then complemented by a robust kit of parts to enable the brand to flex more comfortably across a myriad of applications. We introduced the jackalope motif, a mythical creature rarely seen and impossible to catch, representing The Montenotte’s enticing wild side. We created a suite of illustrations of wildlife seen on the grounds interacting with different elements of the hotel, inspired by the juxtaposition of Urban and Paradise.

We developed a minimal, sophisticated and warm colour palette that was aligned with the hotel’s vivid, eclectic and colourful interiors. We selected strong modern patterns from textiles and interiors, ensuring the brand and its environment work in harmony with one another. A minimalist, modular wayfinding system was developed for external signage, perfectly complementing the hotel’s newly remodelled facade.

The Impact
This branding project has cemented The Montenotte’s rightful position in the luxury hospitality landscape. This has been further reaffirmed by Failte Ireland, who recently recognised The Montenotte as one of Ireland’s key premium destinations. This recognition has been pivotal in building awareness of The Montenotte and attracting high-end guests and luxury travel operators outside of Ireland.

Another key result of the programme is its impact on internal culture. The Montenotte’s staff are its most valuable ambassadors, so we ensured this branding project was a collaborative journey with a shared vision. This solidified The Montenotte’s employer brand, helping the team attract the best new talent while retaining existing employees.

The ultimate result is that The Montenotte has now earned a respected reputation in the high-end leisure space. The hotel has reemerged as a formidable player in this space, competing at a much higher level, breaking into a more premium competitive set and continuously increasing its market share.