Crafting a visual identity and digital experience for a boutique hotel
Captech | 2022 | 3 months
Branding
Product Design
Branding
Product Design
As part of CapTech’s internal brand storytelling challenge, I helped create The Venue — a boutique hotel concept where music culture shapes every moment of the guest experience. The brand identity was designed to stand on its own visually, but I extended it into a functional digital product: Stevie, an AI concierge that connects guests to the local music scene.
This bridge between story-driven branding and interactive design won our team 1st place and was later shared internally as a hospitality concept that could inspire real-world client work.
Visual Designers - Me, Ariel Li, Jaqueline Prine
Copywriter - Cheri Bonner
Videographer - Noah Cox
Boutique hospitality is saturated, with leaders like Graduate Hotels and The Line winning loyalty through hyper-local theming. Our goal was to create a scalable boutique line that still felt unique in every city — adapting to the local music scene while delivering a consistent, high-end experience.
We approached The Venue as both a brand and experience, building step by step from research to identity, and finally to the tangible and digital assets that brought it to life.
Industry & competitor scan
Light personas
Music and culture research
Moodboard
Core values
Core behaviors
Tagline
Logo
Color palette
Style guide
AI-generated imagery
Branded tangible assets
Social campaign graphics
AI concierge prototype
10-min final pitch presentation
We explored Portland’s indie music scene — from the Crystal Ballroom to outdoor forest festivals — and studied vinyl lounges that blend music with social spaces. Competitive research revealed that boutique hotels thrive when they give guests a reason to choose them beyond a room, whether that’s a game day, a festival, or a cultural experience.
We began with a mood board that drew on album art, concert posters, and Portland’s indie music culture. The goal was to capture a raw, eclectic energy while balancing it with the polish expected of a boutique hotel. These early explorations became the visual DNA that guided our identity work.
Through collaborative workshops and AI-assisted wordsmithing, we identified the values and behaviors that would anchor the brand experience, and the behaviors to bring them to life:
AI tools used: ChatGPT, Claude
Finally, we formalized the brand in a style guide that captured the logo, palette, and typography system. Inspired by Portland’s natural tones, the guide provided the structure we needed to keep a consistent identity across both digital and tangible assets.
For launch, I created a collage-style Instagram Story campaign inspired by the surreal, textured feel of Portland album art. Using Midjourney to generate surrealist visuals, the campaign captured the energy and playfulness of the brand in a more kinetic, attention-grabbing style than the in-hotel identity.
AI tools used: Midjourney
The Venue’s identity extended beyond digital into memorable physical assets:
These pieces created a cohesive brand presence across both the physical and digital guest journey.
The brand identity set the tone, but Stevie brought it to life digitally. I designed Stevie to act as a local music insider — recommending shows, finding record shops, sharing playlists, and handling in-room requests.
My role covered:
The Venue gained recognition across CapTech, highlighted by two key outcomes:
Voted on by Customer Experience leadership, including the Director of CX, with the CEO and CTO in attendance. We pitched against two other teams in different industries and delivered a dynamic 10-minute brand story with motion and storytelling elements.
Showcased in hospitality outreach as a service example, positioning CapTech as a partner for both brand and product design support.