Frontdesk
STAY WHERE YOU WANT
Frontdesk is a digital platform that offers trusted travelers exactly the stay they want – their kind of place, in their kind of neighborhood, with a professional hosting experience.
SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
Branding + Identity
Brand Guidelines
CHALLENGE
Frontdesk is a digital platform that offers trusted travelers exactly the stay they want – their kind of place, in their kind of neighborhood, with a professional hosting experience. After years of traveling and staying in poorly-managed apartments, founders Kyle and Jesse worked together to build a team focused on providing unique guest experiences and comfortable, personalized stays.
Frontdesk had a fairly well-known online presence for how new they were to the market, but their bootstrapped logo made in PowerPoint and lack of a cohesive brand made it difficult to take their business to the next level.
OUTCOME
Born from co-founder Kyle’s relatable experience of hotel boredom vs. Airbnb roulette, we transformed the core language into relatable terms: From “the next generation of corporate travel” to “Stay where you want.” We created a new perspective on how people travel. Visual symbolism in the logo shows an aerial view of a city neighborhood, representing Frontdesk’s care in watching over their clients in helping to identify the best neighborhoods. Now they have a stand-out brand to grow with them, year-over-year.
THE NEW LOGO
Breaking down the thought behind the logo, we brought all of the core brand elements together in a single mark: A speech bubble shape to connote “community” because Frontdesk offers more connected experiences than hotels, the map marker for “selective cities,” as Frontdesk focuses on often overlooked second-tier markets like San Antonio and Milwaukee and a city grid that shapes “Fd” for the name.
COLOR
The gold color signifies happiness and travel. It also represents Frontdesk's presence day or night. Whether travellers are soaking up the sun or glowing in the city lights, Frontdesk is there to help guests enjoy their stay.
INITIAL PRODUCT IDEATION
As a part of the brand guideline deliverables, I also wanted to explore what the future might look like for Frontdesk. They had shared with us a desire to have an app one day, and so I brought that experience to life under the new brand through the lens of customer interaction.
CREDITS
DESIGNER
Angela Ryan
WRITER
Nick Bankhead
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR
Nataša Milisav
PROJECT MANAGER
Sara Hammer
RECOGNITION
INDIGO DESIGN AWARDS
Bronze — Branding (2020)
GDUSA
Award — Branding & Identity (2020)