Flawless Branding
- TALIA BERGER SPIVAK
- Sep 14, 2022
- 5 min read
During my five-day stay at the Circus Hotel in Berlin, I slowly discovered brilliant examples of consistent, cohesive graphic branding in every single corner. It was executed with such incredible taste, exactly the way it is taught in top graphic design schools. Their modern branding features a subtle retro touch and clever, smile-inducing illustrations that blend in perfect harmony with the hotel's interior design. This branding did more than just catch my eye; it truly moved me and elevated my entire experience.
For the past thirty years, I have lived, breathed, and eaten graphic design. Over these three decades, the concept of flawless branding has been the absolute core of my work. It started back in my studies, where we were taught to build a unified graphic language for a company or product. It continued in the classrooms where I taught design and branding to my own students, and it remains the heartbeat of my daily studio work today.
You can write endless posts about branding, and you can easily find mountains of written material on the subject. But I would rather show you. Let me share my experience as a guest at a Berlin hotel through photos, and explain exactly why their visual language moved me to give them the ultimate perfect 10!
The Power of Consistency
I will start by saying that design consistency is one of the main pillars of building a brand identity. Every element within the brand's aesthetic must look like it belongs. Each piece should complement the other, creating a balanced and easily digestible visual experience. This is exactly what defines the Circus Hotel's branding. Their visual design and the user experience are woven together in perfect harmony.
Typography: They use a clean, bold, sans-serif font in capital letters for headings and emphasis, paired with a classic typewriter font for the body text, all in stark black and white.
Color Palette: They avoid highly saturated colors. Instead, they use muted, "dirty" earth tones like brown and beige, alongside warm colors like dusty pink, greyish burgundy, and olive green.
Illustrations: They feature a distinct retro style, full of character and a cheeky wink.
I invite you to experience what awaited me through these pictures:
As soon as you arrive, the front windows introduce you to the hotel's striking graphic language with their "Become Part of The Circus Family!" sticker.
Right next to it, framed in black wood on the window, is the story of the building. It turns out the structure was built in the second half of the 19th century on the grounds of the "Jewish Hostel." The ground floor originally housed a menswear shop owned by the Feibysches, a very well known Jewish family in the neighborhood. Tragically, their story in the building ended when the Nazis sent them to a concentration camp.
Stepping into the lobby, you instantly feel the dynamic, young, vibrant, and tastefully designed atmosphere. On one side, there is a large bar with inviting seating areas, and on the other, the reception desk. At the entrance to the bar, a sign politely asks you to wait for the host to seat you.
The experience continues at the reception desk. When you receive your room key, the plastic magnetic cards are tucked inside a miniature, faded green paper folder with the greeting: "Your key to a great stay."
Inside the elevator, alongside the floor buttons, you find directional stickers and a wall packed with information about what the hotel offers and what is happening in Berlin that month. Stepping out of the elevator reveals a simply stunning hallway, adorned with black and white wall illustrations of Berlin and illuminated black framed signs that blend beautifully into the overall look.
When you enter the room, which is designed with those same carefully selected elements, a personalized, handwritten "Welcome" card waits on the bed, greeting us alongside two chocolates.
On one side of the room, there is a seating area with a desk. Under the desk hides a surprise drawer — a mini-bar filled with snacks and goodies. It includes a branded notepad listing the products and prices, where you simply mark what you took and bring it to reception to pay.
Above the desk, next to a large TV screen, hangs a small grey felt bulletin board. It holds a postcard, a pillow menu (yes, you can order the exact type of pillow that suits you best from reception!), a business card, Berlin recommendations, a notepad with a pencil, and a flyer explaining the room's air conditioning. All these elements come together to create a stunning corner in the room.
On the other side of the desk is the coffee and tea station. They even invested in branding their sugar packets, wishing you a sweet stay and reminding you that you can dial 450 to order milk, lemon, or anything else you might need.
Like most hotels, the bathroom has a hairdryer. However, here it is stored in a highly amusing branded drawstring bag that reads: "Always do what Mum says*." At the bottom of the bag, the asterisk clarifies: "*Never leave the house with wet hair." Attached to the bag is a tag that says: "I live at the Circus Hotel. If you want to take me home, please buy me at the reception desk for 12 Euros." That was the moment I truly understood how seriously they take their branding. Every tiny detail receives thought and respect, showing just how much you can leverage design to market a hotel!
When you leave the room, you can hang a door tag. Instead of a boring "Do Not Disturb," one side features an astronaut and says: "On a mission - Please do not disturb." The other side shows the same astronaut sailing a boat with the text: "Out and about - Please make up my room."
One day, we went up to the hotel's rooftop terrace. The door to the stairs features a sticker showing your floor number and a humorous illustration warning you to mind your step, continuing the same character-filled visual language. Another fantastic sticker is placed right on the terrace door.
Out on the open terrace, alongside the seating areas, sits a drink fridge labeled the "Honesty Bar." Think about how wonderful it is to trust your guests to be honest about what they take and trust them to pay for it. I found it charming, and it fit perfectly with the unspoken communication the hotel builds with its guests through its designed elements. Naturally, the terrace also has a trash bin for garbage, complete with its own matching sticker.
This concludes our visual tour of winning hotel branding. As a designer, but experiencing this from the consumer's side, it is incredibly fun to see the sheer power of branding that maintains strict consistency in its visual language. It proves that when every single element - from the smallest and most obscure to the largest and most prominent - receives the exact same treatment, touch, and language, the result is magical. Hats off to the Circus Hotel. This is exactly what a winning brand looks like!
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