BY Armin

Funky Script Takes Eternal Holiday

[Update 10.30.07: Additional images of the new identity added at the end]

Let me start by saying this: I love Holiday Inns. As a kid, traveling to the U.S. from Mexico, it was with happy regularity that we stayed at one, whether we were in Texas, Florida or New York. Like his car purchases, my dad was never much for additional and extroverted fanciness (and cost) when it came to booking a hotel. Perhaps it’s my association with those early years of travel and discovery but there is something undeniably comforting about Holiday Inns. They are, by far, not the best hotels but, for the most part, you can count on good service, a clean bed, cable TV, air conditioning and — despite an attempted break-in into a room housing my mom, grandmother and aunt many decades ago in a San Antonio Holiday Inn that, later, made the news — a sense of security and familiarity that welcomes you as you are introduced to a new place, far from home. I may have inherited a penchant for mid-range priced hotels from my dad, as spending more than $300 for a room in which you are only going to sleep in seems preposterous. I am not cheap, by any means, I like me some fancy things as much as any other designer but, when it comes to hotels, Holiday Inn is, for better or worse, the expectation (of price, service, and amenities) that I measure every hotel against. And in my increasing affection for identity design created anytime before 1999, it is painfully nostalgic to see Holiday Inn’s fabulously odd script logo — just how awesome are those reverse italics? — check out.

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BY John Feldhouse

La Quinta Branches Out

La Quinta, a Texas-based hotel chain, recently updated their logo as they try to expand their customer base. In an effort to become a major hotel chain in North America, “La Quinta plans to nearly double its network of 586 hotels by 2011, focusing on Canada, the Northeast, Florida, California, the Northwest, and the mid-Atlantic. Later this year, it will open its first property in Mexico.”

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BY Armin

Let the Sunshine Inn

In general I have no shortage of connections to make to any of the given brands discussed here. With Days Inn, I have nothing. And it’s not because I scoff at budget hotels; I have stayed at my share of low-priced hotels and I may have even stayed at a Days Inn for all I know, but I would never know, since their branding seems so low-key… and it has been so, at least, for the past 37 years, when Days Inn was founded in 1970 and was granted its first (and, until now, only) identity. This past February, Days Inn unveiled its new logo to 1,800 of its managers and owners. The new identity helps support the chain’s “A Promise as Sure as the Sun” brand promise and, to boot, because the shape is nearly identical, it won’t break the bank: “We kept what was good and powerful in our logo — the unique and familiar shape and the warm yellow sun — but freshened up the look,” says Chris Trick, VP of marketing, “By preserving the shape of the logo we were able to keep signage replacement costs at a minimum since there is no need for franchisees to replace the physical signage container if still in good condition.” The old logo clearly needed a refresh, the dark frame made it feel like one of those motels where you could be murdered in your sleep or in the shower; the typography was uninviting and stodgy; and the sun looked more like a 50% off! starburst than an actual sun. Now it feels fresher — maybe too fresh? — and more inviting. But, funny, I still feel no connection.

Thanks to DesignMaven for the tip.