THE   A L O H A  concept branding/design - sourcing/build out

DEVELOPMENT -  assignment to renew a 26 unit motor lodge.

CREATED LOGO - The building came with the existing name "The Aloha Motel" and it was the only name it had ever had. We decided to simplify it to just "The Aloha" to make this a renewal not a removal. 

BRANDING - In addition to the simplified title, the words "hello" and "goodbye" became the tag line. This was an intentional play on the double meaning of the word "aloha" and to work within the buildings traditional u-shaped motor lodge structure. The words "hello" and "goodbye" painted largely on each end of the driveway envelop the visitor. So between their arrival and departure they are existing in a space and time away from their regular reality. This idea is repeated on the motel's vintage sign's neon where "vacancy/no vacancy" would normally appear now also reads "hello" and "goodbye".

The color scheme was chosen to represent an island vibe. It is what I call a "middle rainbow" but in the shades reflecting the buildings mid century roots. So a rainbow without the harshness of red or purple with dusty pink, salmon, harvest gold and mint replacing the traditional colors. Each door painted a bright color going around the building in the order of a regular rainbow but in our classic color conversion. Each room painted the palest version of these colors inside up to 60 inches on the wall to create a horizon line like that of the beach when you view the ocean.

DESIGN/BUILD OUT - Created a Stark white exterior to brighten the entire property with blue trim to reflect the sky and water of the islands. Accenting all in black to create a nice pop feeling for the colors to rest on. All new wooden flooring, bed frames and floating shelves. Each room complete with a black ukulele, blue sheer curtains to peer through and original artwork created in collaboration with local artist's Randy Slack and Douglas Abrahamson's photo collections. The art I created uses images of Slack's beloved vintage VW bus Myrtle in her natural beach habitat and Abrahamson's various vintage Hawaiian images. I manipulated these photos to create large black and white prints to reinforce the color foundation already established. These images were then pasted directly on the wall above the bed to simulate beach style advertising campaigns. They are lit by a neon tube light coming from inside the bed's headboard for a night time closed up shop vibe you would find on the boardwalk after hours.

The Exterior features a brand new pool community area, complete with sunset mural and thatched shade structures. During the renovation process it became very clear the locals were attached to the existing tiki statues so we wanted to preserve that tradition at the property. Working with a local artist, several tiki poles were acquired to create a feature wall with the word "mahalo" in neon to answer that call. Large hand made pots from Mexico in various colors line the driveway with cactus and bird of paradise. Next to each door a bench for sitting to enjoy our beautiful winter weather.