DESIGN VISION

citizenM

Sector

Hospitality

citizenM started with an idea to disrupt the traditional hotel industry by creating a luxury hybrid hotel for today’s modern travellers – eliminating the frustrations these travellers shared.

At their hotels, the physical experience is very different from the traditional hotels: instead of a reception desk they have ‘ambassadors’ across the lobby, bar and cafeteria that help guests when needed; digital kiosks are available for guests to self-checkin at their own pace, and in the rooms all is controlled by a digital tablet.

DESIGN VISION

citizenM

Sector

Hospitality

citizenM started with an idea to disrupt the traditional hotel industry by creating a luxury hybrid hotel for today’s modern travellers – eliminating the frustrations these travellers shared.

At their hotels, the physical experience is very different from the traditional hotels: instead of a reception desk they have ‘ambassadors’ across the lobby, bar and cafeteria that help guests when needed; digital kiosks are available for guests to self-checkin at their own pace, and in the rooms all is controlled by a digital tablet.

DESIGN VISION

citizenM

Sector

Hospitality

citizenM started with an idea to disrupt the traditional hotel industry by creating a luxury hybrid hotel for today’s modern travellers – eliminating the frustrations these travellers shared.

At their hotels, the physical experience is very different from the traditional hotels: instead of a reception desk they have ‘ambassadors’ across the lobby, bar and cafeteria that help guests when needed; digital kiosks are available for guests to self-checkin at their own pace, and in the rooms all is controlled by a digital tablet.

We want something that feels less 'boxy', and more aligned with the brand provocative and 'quirky' personality

The brief

We were asked to create a new design language that felt less generic and ‘boxy’, but also could flesh out the ‘provocative’ personality of the brand, as well as the artistic content they sponsor.

The new look-and-feel needed to feel as exciting and considered as the physical experience of the hotels, across a range of digital channels: web, native app, tablet, kiosk and watch.

We want something that feels less 'boxy', and more aligned with the brand provocative and 'quirky' personality

The brief

We were asked to create a new design language that felt less generic and ‘boxy’, but also could flesh out the ‘provocative’ personality of the brand, as well as the artistic content they sponsor.

The new look-and-feel needed to feel as exciting and considered as the physical experience of the hotels, across a range of digital channels: web, native app, tablet, kiosk and watch.

We want something that feels less 'boxy', and more aligned with the brand provocative and 'quirky' personality

The brief

We were asked to create a new design language that felt less generic and ‘boxy’, but also could flesh out the ‘provocative’ personality of the brand, as well as the artistic content they sponsor.

The new look-and-feel needed to feel as exciting and considered as the physical experience of the hotels, across a range of digital channels: web, native app, tablet, kiosk and watch.

The work

The team defined 4 main stages for the project, with specific goals and deliverables: immersion, definition, ideation, and development.


  1. First, in collaboration with different stakeholders we ran a set of activities such as interviews, research, and workshops in order to capture insights, expectations and dependencies.

  2. With those findings we looked at opportunities to improve the experience, and defined the key moments our design vision work should focus on.

  3. We then worked on 3 different creative routes, pushing the brand into new directions, to be presented and discussed to the stakeholders.

  4. After presented and discussed with the stakeholders, one creative route was chosen and developed across the key journeys.

The result was a new design language that used the logo shapes in an free and artistic way, creating new graphic devices that were brought to life with animation UI.

We retained the brand bright colours and strong typography, boosting it at key moments (like the hero components)

We elevated the ambassadors as a key experience element, and created new ways to display the unique features of the hotel chain across all channels: responsive web, app, apple watch, and kiosks.

View prototype here (use website password).

Role

Design/creative director

Team

3 senior designers

Duration

12 weeks

Skills

Brand strategy

Workshop

Product design

Prototyping

Client presentation

The work

The team defined 4 main stages for the project, with specific goals and deliverables: immersion, definition, ideation, and development.


  1. First, in collaboration with different stakeholders we ran a set of activities such as interviews, research, and workshops in order to capture insights, expectations and dependencies.

  2. With those findings we looked at opportunities to improve the experience, and defined the key moments our design vision work should focus on.

  3. We then worked on 3 different creative routes, pushing the brand into new directions, to be presented and discussed to the stakeholders.

  4. After presented and discussed with the stakeholders, one creative route was chosen and developed across the key journeys.

The result was a new design language that used the logo shapes in an free and artistic way, creating new graphic devices that were brought to life with animation UI.

We retained the brand bright colours and strong typography, boosting it at key moments (like the hero components)

We elevated the ambassadors as a key experience element, and created new ways to display the unique features of the hotel chain across all channels: responsive web, app, apple watch, and kiosks.

View prototype here (use website password).

Role

Design/creative director

Team

3 senior designers

Duration

12 weeks

Skills

Brand strategy

Workshop

Product design

Prototyping

Client presentation

The work

The team defined 4 main stages for the project, with specific goals and deliverables: immersion, definition, ideation, and development.


  1. First, in collaboration with different stakeholders we ran a set of activities such as interviews, research, and workshops in order to capture insights, expectations and dependencies.

  2. With those findings we looked at opportunities to improve the experience, and defined the key moments our design vision work should focus on.

  3. We then worked on 3 different creative routes, pushing the brand into new directions, to be presented and discussed to the stakeholders.

  4. After presented and discussed with the stakeholders, one creative route was chosen and developed across the key journeys.

The result was a new design language that used the logo shapes in an free and artistic way, creating new graphic devices that were brought to life with animation UI.

We retained the brand bright colours and strong typography, boosting it at key moments (like the hero components)

We elevated the ambassadors as a key experience element, and created new ways to display the unique features of the hotel chain across all channels: responsive web, app, apple watch, and kiosks.

View prototype here (use website password).

Role

Design/creative director

Team

3 senior designers

Duration

12 weeks

Skills

Brand strategy

Workshop

Product design

Prototyping

Client presentation

Web: Homepage + City page

Web: Property page + booking flow

Web: Homepage + City page

Web: Property page + booking flow

Web: Homepage + City page

Web: Property page + booking flow

App: login and register

App: room controls (media handover)

App: location-aware self checkin

App: login and register

App: room controls (media handover)

App: location-aware self checkin

App: login and register

App: room controls (media handover)

App: location-aware self checkin

Mobile web

Apple watch

Hotel kiosk

Mobile web

Apple watch

Hotel kiosk

Mobile web

Apple watch

Hotel kiosk

Hello.

I'm Alex, a design / creative director with a background in interface, product and visual design, and a strong collaborative experience in UX, research, and design strategy.

Hello.

I'm Alex, a design / creative director with a background in interface, product and visual design, and a strong collaborative experience in UX, research, and design strategy.

Hello.

I'm Alex, a design / creative director with a background in interface, product and visual design, and a strong collaborative experience in UX, research, and design strategy.

© 2023 Alex Carvalho, all rights reserved. Disclaimer: none of the work showcased in this website contains real client content or data, and its sole purpose is to demonstrate creative skills and experience.

© 2023 Alex Carvalho, all rights reserved. Disclaimer: none of the work showcased in this website contains real client content or data, and its sole purpose is to demonstrate creative skills and experience.

© 2023 Alex Carvalho, all rights reserved. Disclaimer: none of the work showcased in this website contains real client content or data, and its sole purpose is to demonstrate creative skills and experience.