A one-of-a-kind property on Grand Lake that provides unparalleled serenity for family gatherings or large groups.
BRAND & STRATEGY
INTRODUCTION
date
2023
team
Valerie Post
Kendra Schemmel
Cielos Resort & Events | Montezuma, Ohio
Cielos is a gorgeous, five acre, European style resort on the banks of Grand Lake St. Mary’s. The property contains the main home and two outstanding side buildings that are perfect for hosting events – whether rented separately, or the estate as a whole. This one-of-a-kind lakeside property provides unparalleled serenity for family gatherings or large group events.
Located just down the road from a Wildlife Sanctuary, guests have the opportunity to see wildlife such as bald eagles, blue herons, deer, waterfowl, and red foxes. Whether enjoying the natural surroundings, taking a dip in the pool, or trying your hand at a game of tennis on the private courts, Cielos offers guests the opportunity to get away from the hectic day-to-day life.
OBJECTIVES
Our strategy began by defining the brand. The prompt: aiming to represent feelings of vintage, lived-in luxury, and eclectic tranquility, with notes of European Equestrian. Our designers dove into the history of the village name where the property resides, Montezuma, while feeling led by the Spanish Colonial and Mediterranean-inspired architecture of the main building.
rich in history
The name Cielos derives from the Spanish word for heavens. It was said that the emperor, Moctezuma, wanted mankind to build his house high enough to reach the heavens. With the high ceilings throughout the buildings on the estate, we felt the name was a fitting homage to this history. This unique name also reflects the very Spanish-colonial-meets-Mediterranean architectural qualities found throughout the property.
APPROACH
“arch”itectural illustrations
Inspired by the grand, arched front doors, the logomark illustrates the first piece of Cielos that welcomes you to the estate. The front door and arched entryways throughout the home are statements and thus, became an icon for the brand.
The illustrative qualities of the logomark provided the perfect opportunity for the creation of brand patterns. The patterns create a wide variety of usage options in Cielos’ marketing materials, allowing for expansion of brand awareness and growth as they rise in their market.
the right type of fit for any space
Our designers focused on creating a responsive logo suite that was built from the two core elements that reflect the Cielos brand — the logomark and the signature. It was important to our client that the logo be able to adapt to any needs of the estate. Be it social media, event listings, rental websites, or more, our team of creatives developed the perfect fit for each application. The brand features horizontal, vertical, stacked, and short versions of their logo to work seamlessly with their marketing materials.
Typography plays a crucial role in the Cielos brand. Our designers found inspiration from playing on a traditional serif font — expressing the sophistication and reliability of the property. Inspired by the nature around us, we adjusted the font, specifically the “E,” to be more organic and express the high-end, but welcoming, aspects of the audience’s stay. To complete the typography needs of our client, we formed a secondary text, comprised of a clean-cut sans-serif font to complement but balance the expressive and full-of-character Cielos logo. Upon completion, the typography speaks to the upbeat and inviting architecture of the home and the estate’s natural relatability as a whole.
The brand’s header and body typography feature a serif and san serif combination to compliment the responsive logo suite. The Noto font family was designed with the goal of achieving visual harmony with compatible heights and stroke thicknesses. Contrasting the openness and neutral tone of Noto Sans, the bold swashes of Noto Serif create an attractive texture within the body copy of the Cielos brand.
The soft, stucco-inspired colors were pulled from the architecture of the house itself and the warm feelings customers get when entering the space — fresh and bright, with Saltillo tile and wooden accents that surround them. This warm and cozy palette partners well with the stained woods, neutral textures, and green vegetation found on the estate.
building Monte, Zu, and Ma
Within the Cielos estate are three buildings, each with their own story to tell. Knowing the value in this, our team designed three sub-brands for the Cielos that would represent each building individually. This created clear differentiation between the spaces, making it easier for our clients to rent the buildings separately, and ensured a more enjoyable and memorable user experience.
To connect all of the spaces together and ground them to the Spanish influence of the estate, and with reference to their residing community, our team chose to split the word “Montezuma” into three pieces: Monte, Zu, and Ma. These words would serve as introductory word of each building and sets the tone for each space exquisitely.
Beginning with the main home on the estate, named “Monte Villa”, our team found inspiration within the word “Villa” which is the Spanish word for “house near the sea”. Just north of Monte Villa lies an artistic pool house with sleeping quarters in the lofted space, and a large open-concept interior. The second story contains a large-scale telescope with roof access to view the solar system… and so was born the name “Zu Marte”. “Marte” means “Mars” in Spanish — a reference to the planets visible by the telescope. The final structure on the estate, “Ma Lago”, is Cielos’ own event space. The name “Lago” derives from the Spanish word for lake, referencing back the estate’s location and access to Grand Lake St. Marys.
