New Zealand Commercial Design Trends Series NZ Commercial Design Trends Vol. 34/02C | Page 97

Above:The lobby at the Novotel
Century Hong Kong, by Aedas
Interiors. “What we do is create
stage sets. It’s all about theatre
and drama. Within the set, are
the actors – either rehearsed or
impromptu. And that’s the staff,”
says designer Greg Farrell.
Responding like this creates something unique.
It’s hugely important in hotel design, and that
avoids, hopefully, the cookie cutter hotel design.
The brand story
The layering of the brand story on top comes in
the way the hotel operates. We keep talking about
buildings, but we’re also talking about bringing
hospitality and humanity back into hotels.
What we do is create stage sets. It’s all about
theatre and drama. Within the set, are the actors –
either rehearsed or impromptu. And that’s the staff.
So a lot of the brand messaging, a lot of the
brand DNA, comes from the human aspect and
that’s the familiarity you start to see. Because then
the building itself, the physical stage set, takes on
the sense of place and location, but would also
hark back to what the brand DNA is as well.
So at M Social, it’s a far more casual staff uniform.
The language they’re creating is different. There are
wonderful little things they’re creating that will make
you feel comfortable and that will become the DNA
of the brand as it grows around the world.
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251687320 at Trendsideas.com
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