The Overlook Hotel Fictional Identity
The Project
In the Communication Design Program at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, I took “Branding and Identity Systems.” In previous years, this class redesigned beer cans. When I took this class, the instructor had us design a fictional identity for an existing entity in film/television. This ended up being an excellent exercise for me as I moved across the country to Los Angeles from Boston.
This project included:
Primary Wordmark
Secondary logo
Color Palette
Sub-branding
The Overlook Hotel was established in 1908, the heart of the Art Nouveau period. When I began this project I went to the library to find references for this period and found this example. Both evocative of horror and fear, but also of the early 20th century, these type forms are both versatile and spooky, just like the Overlook Hotel.
A breakdown of the type mark. Sharp serifs create a sense of danger, while the tall and narrow cap height creates an ominous look and feel.
The secondary mark and color palette.
Expanding the identity
After creating the initial identity, I expanded the brand to a sub-brand or restaurant featured in the hotel. This was an exciting exercise in expanding the alphabet of the initial lettering but also discovering some complimentary forms. I explored this brand in my spare time while working as a young professional in the industry. The process is a little more comprehensive than my original exploration.
Some initial sketches of ideas for the Colorado Lounge.
Nine final options for the Colorado Lounge, using different containers and color palettes.
Digitizing the sketches and fine-tuning the letterforms.
Final examples of the application of both logos.