Graphic Design That Works

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D

ESIGN

F

IRM

:

Paprika Communications

A

RT

D

IRECTOR

:

Louis Gagnon

D

ESIGNERS

:

Louis Gagnon,

Francis Turgeon,

Annabelle Racine

P

HOTOGRAPHER

:

Michel Touchette

C

LIENT

:

Groupe Germain

ABOVE: Designers opted for

a neutral color palette of

taupe and cream in keeping

with the renovation’s archi-

tectural and interior design

details. Here, the logo and

its colors make a statement

when guests enter the hotel

and step onto its carpet.

Hôtel St. Germain:

G

is for Graphic Monograms

The Process

What started as a simple identity project turned into a comprehensive branding

program when Paprika Communications was retained to develop the identity for

a new Montreal hotel. The hotel was part of a small chain of boutique hotels, but

since it was the first one called Le Germain, designers didn’t have to conform to any

preexisting graphics standards in place for the two sister hotels. When Germain-

des-Prés Developments decided to convert a 1970s office tower in downtown

Montreal into the 150-suite Hôtel Le Germain, they needed that special something

—that intangible feeling of status and elegance that can be communicated by

a well-defined, creative, graphics-based branding program.

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Paprika Communications was awarded the project of developing the new look and

corporate identity while the building was being renovated. “The building wasn’t

particularly bad, but it didn’t have all that much character,” says Joanne Lefebvre,

who cofounded Paprika in 1991 with Louis Gagnon and is now the president. “It

was a rectangular structure with large windows and pure, sober lines. You could

have given it any personality, really.”

The owner wanted a “boutique hotel” that would appeal to sophisticated business

customers but also attract upscale tourists; Hôtel Le Germain was to be the best of

its kind in Montreal. “We had a very clear idea of what we wanted to accomplish,”

says Lefebvre. “It had to be considered as one of the best hotels in its category,

not only in Montreal, but in North America—New York, Boston, and San Francisco.

The most important thing about a boutique hotel is the fact that refinement is.. .

everything. You have to select everything you offer your clients very carefully.”

LEFT AND ABOVE: Coasters

feature the monogram logo,

which uses the lowercase

g

in Clarendon, a nineteenth-

century typeface.

RIGHT: The designers

collaborated with the

architects during the

renovation to make sure

that the graphics would

complement the new

building, which was being

transformed from a non-

descript office building

to a boutique hotel.

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That was the reasoning behind designers choosing to use

a monogram as the logo. “The

g

would be our quality

signature,” explains Lefebvre. “We would use it to com-

municate the fact that we had selected this product or

this service to make sure your experience of staying at

Le Germain would be the best it can be.” Designers also

liked the idea of a monogram because it meant they

wouldn’t have to spell out the full name. “That became

increasingly important as the program grew to include

more and more items.” They set the lowercase

g

in

Clarendon, a nineteenth-century typeface. “We wanted

something pretty, but also timeless—a mixture of some-

thing hip with something very classical.”

Designers worked on basic elements of the branding such

as the letterhead system and collaborated with architects

and interior designers to ensure that the new interior and

exterior graphics complemented the work being done as

part of the renovation. Designers went for a classical

appearance, avoiding anything trendy, and chose a

neutral color palette of taupe and cream that would work

in tandem with the building’s architecture and interiors.

ABOVE: Designers thought

the project was just an

identity program when they

created the hotel’s station-

ery system, but it turned

into much, much more.

ABOVE: The key wallet

is embossed with the

hotel’s logo.

Graphic Design That Works

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