ABOUT

I partnered with hospitality powerhouse Piper Stremmel and San Francisco-based architectural firm Studio BBA, to create a brand and digital experience for The Jesse boutique hotel in Reno, Nevada. The final concept is faithful to the city’s history, community and desert landscape while appealing to design-conscious travellers.

The launch was awarded a Gold ADDY and gold certificate for Integrated Branding from the American Adverting Awards in Silicon Valley. The Jesse receives ongoing recognition, with features in Forbes, Wallpaper*, Design Milk Travels, Hospitality Design, and Schoolhouse.

The Brief

The Jesse, a new six-room boutique hotel and bar, required a distinctive end-to-end brand experience. It had to bring to life the “hip, approachable, design-oriented, warm, experiential, and uniquely Reno property” with the hotel’s ethos of “great design, exceptional service, and community”. It also had to appeal to the local community while attracting design-loving tourists.

The team required a powerful brand concept that would work across everything from hotel collateral to signage and social media, along with a WordPress website integrated with the hotel operational systems.

The Answer

The ethos of the brand is design, and I looked for every opportunity to pay homage to the local surrounding high-desert, the history of the building and its location, with simple sophistication.

The illustrated tumbleweed honours the transiency of the Lincoln Highway’s history of divorcees and extended stay travellers, a similar path to the constant travel of the high-desert sagebrush. The monochromatic colour palette features hunter green with neutral tones to add balance and contrast with a pop of peachy/coral, similar to a sunset over the Nevada landscape.

We used classical and minimal typography to blend the two font types to create sophistication while allowing a simplified J that can be applied anywhere.

The Outcome

I managed the project, including print, signage and digital developers, from start through to delivery. The Jesse receives ongoing recognition and was launched to great acclaim. Most importantly, it has been a commercial success in an overcrowded market and tough economy.

Accolades include a Gold ADDY and gold certificate for Integrated Branding from the American Adverting Awards in Silicon Valley. The Jesse continues to be featured in the press, from Forbes, Wallpaper*, Design Milk Travels, and Hospitality Design, to Schoolhouse.

“Victoria helped me with the brand research, strategy, design, and activation of my boutique hotel, bar, and accompanying restaurant. Working with Victoria on the brand was, by far, the most satisfying and enriching part of building the hotel, bar, and restaurant from its original idea into an operational business.”
Piper Stremmel – The Jesse, Entrepreneur Business Owner