2011 Winners & Shortlists

Brief Explanation

The primary objective was to encapsulate the positioning line ‘Spirit of the East’ since this is the first luxury hotel borne from the Arab World. Predominantly aimed at the Arab World, it sought to celebrate its cultural heritage, remain true to the East and not fall foul of stereotype while at the same time creating a truly contemporary, timeless brand. Although the primary target audience were Arab speakers, we had to be careful not to alienate non-Arab speakers since once established, the hotel endeavours to open properties in the West.

The Brief

Shaza Hotels, a new joint venture with Kempinski is opening up to 30 hotels by 2016, the first of which opened late December 2010 in the holy city of Al Madina, Saudi Arabia. We were tasked to create a strong visual identity at both a corporate level and property level as well as visual identities for their unique signature features – Shaza Garden, Shaza Hammam & Spa, Shaza Kids Club and Shaza Café. The brief included the design and roll out of all corporate and hotel marketing and operational collateral.

How the final design was conceived

There are mystical letters in the Arabic language. This is the inspiration for the logo. Of the 28 letters in the Arabic alphabet, exactly half are Mystical Letters. These Mystical Letters sometimes appear in the Quran as entire words. Imagine a sentence: G, F, T. What possibly could this mean? Today, scholars still search for their meaning. Considering Islam’s love for art and the esoteric, the meaning of the Mystical Letters should be left to the universe. Forever an intended ethereal mystery. Into this context, we should like to present Sheen. (The first Arabic letter of the word Shaza).

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

The new Shaza property in the holy city of Al Madina has been at full occupancy levels since opening.