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D
ESIGN
F
IRM
:
Paprika Communications
A
RT
D
IRECTOR
:
Louis Gagnon
D
ESIGNERS
:
Louis Gagnon,
Francis Turgeon,
Annabelle Racine
P
HOTOGRAPHER
:
Michel Touchette
C
LIENT
:
Groupe Germain
ABOVE: Designers opted for
a neutral color palette of
taupe and cream in keeping
with the renovation’s archi-
tectural and interior design
details. Here, the logo and
its colors make a statement
when guests enter the hotel
and step onto its carpet.
Hôtel St. Germain:
G
is for Graphic Monograms
The Process
What started as a simple identity project turned into a comprehensive branding
program when Paprika Communications was retained to develop the identity for
a new Montreal hotel. The hotel was part of a small chain of boutique hotels, but
since it was the first one called Le Germain, designers didn’t have to conform to any
preexisting graphics standards in place for the two sister hotels. When Germain-
des-Prés Developments decided to convert a 1970s office tower in downtown
Montreal into the 150-suite Hôtel Le Germain, they needed that special something
—that intangible feeling of status and elegance that can be communicated by
a well-defined, creative, graphics-based branding program.
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Paprika Communications was awarded the project of developing the new look and
corporate identity while the building was being renovated. “The building wasn’t
particularly bad, but it didn’t have all that much character,” says Joanne Lefebvre,
who cofounded Paprika in 1991 with Louis Gagnon and is now the president. “It
was a rectangular structure with large windows and pure, sober lines. You could
have given it any personality, really.”
The owner wanted a “boutique hotel” that would appeal to sophisticated business
customers but also attract upscale tourists; Hôtel Le Germain was to be the best of
its kind in Montreal. “We had a very clear idea of what we wanted to accomplish,”
says Lefebvre. “It had to be considered as one of the best hotels in its category,
not only in Montreal, but in North America—New York, Boston, and San Francisco.
The most important thing about a boutique hotel is the fact that refinement is.. .
everything. You have to select everything you offer your clients very carefully.”
LEFT AND ABOVE: Coasters
feature the monogram logo,
which uses the lowercase
g
in Clarendon, a nineteenth-
century typeface.
RIGHT: The designers
collaborated with the
architects during the
renovation to make sure
that the graphics would
complement the new
building, which was being
transformed from a non-
descript office building
to a boutique hotel.
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That was the reasoning behind designers choosing to use
a monogram as the logo. “The
g
would be our quality
signature,” explains Lefebvre. “We would use it to com-
municate the fact that we had selected this product or
this service to make sure your experience of staying at
Le Germain would be the best it can be.” Designers also
liked the idea of a monogram because it meant they
wouldn’t have to spell out the full name. “That became
increasingly important as the program grew to include
more and more items.” They set the lowercase
g
in
Clarendon, a nineteenth-century typeface. “We wanted
something pretty, but also timeless—a mixture of some-
thing hip with something very classical.”
Designers worked on basic elements of the branding such
as the letterhead system and collaborated with architects
and interior designers to ensure that the new interior and
exterior graphics complemented the work being done as
part of the renovation. Designers went for a classical
appearance, avoiding anything trendy, and chose a
neutral color palette of taupe and cream that would work
in tandem with the building’s architecture and interiors.
ABOVE: Designers thought
the project was just an
identity program when they
created the hotel’s station-
ery system, but it turned
into much, much more.
ABOVE: The key wallet
is embossed with the
hotel’s logo.
Graphic Design That Works
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LEFT: The lowercase
g
logo
is embroidered on this
plush, white hotel bathrobe.
Paprika Communications
applied the logo to a variety
of “elements of comfort” in
the hotel from the bathrobe
to an umbrella tag—all
available for purchase.
“The creative line was ‘hotel of the senses.’ We wanted
everything to be perfect,” says Lefebvre.
Everything is very near perfect, too. The deceptively simple
monogram can be seen everywhere. The client liked it so
much that they asked designers to incorporate the logo
throughout the hotel—effectively branding the building
and all of its contents. It shows up where one might expect
to see a monogram—embroidered on a hotel robe, as well
as in unlikely places, such as on the porcelain faucet
inserts in the guest bathrooms and on the carpets. Such
attention to detail is abundant in this identity where no
opportunity is overlooked to remind travelers of the brand.
“It started out as a corporate identity but turned into a
branding program,” says Lefebvre.
BELOW: Initially, the project
consisted only of creating
an identity for the new
boutique hotel. But after
the client saw the results,
Paprika Communications
continued to win new proj-
ects, applying the mark
to everything in the hotel,
including its bathroom
faucets.
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RIGHT: Matchbooks are
also high end, with the
logo printed on the box
tray that holds the matches,
while the name of the hotel
runs atop the sleeve. The
ashtrays also sport the
distinct
g
monogram.
RIGHT: Designers created
the packaging for the body
care products found in
guest rooms and have just
completed a promotional
brochure that is linked to
the hotel’s Web site, which
allows guests to buy about
everything they saw in their
room, from its sheets and
pillows to its furniture
and glasses.
Graphic Design That Works
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