Case Study
Concept & Positioning | Creative Direction | Brand Identity | Guest Collateral | Website Design
the setting
Paia Beach House imagines a 16-key boutique hotel in a restored 1927 building. The starting point was a meeting of old Hawaii nostalgia, surf culture, and the ease of a small beach house.
Paia Beach House
Paia, Maui, Hawaii
Independent Concept Project. 2026
The Vision
“A little old, a little now.”
Give a historic hotel a new chapter, preserving its character while creating a place worth coming to in its own right.
Keep the warmth and texture of what’s been there, and bring a fresh eye to how it’s used and experienced today. Local art and careful consideration of environmental impact would help shape that next chapter.
A hotel that welcomes travelers into the life of Paia and remains a familiar part of the day for its neighbors.
THE POINT OF VIEW
The ocean, surf culture, and the everyday rhythm of Paia shaped our idea of a stay. Mornings by the water, conversations over coffee, and afternoons with room for a change of plans.
The hotel would welcome guests into that rhythm, with lively spaces to gather and quiet corners to settle into.
“Where the day follows the tide.”
This became the guiding thought for the brand, shaping its language, visual identity, and the everyday details of the guest experience.
Mornings start slow. Afternoons might mean a walk into town, a swim at the beach, or chasing waves down the coast. And when the day is done, there’s always a room waiting for you back at Paia Beach House.
THE IDENTITY
The wordmark began with a hand-drawn study of waves. Its flowing curves bring the movement of Paia’s ocean into the lettering, making that connection visible at first glance.
Alongside the wordmark and logomark, we created sixteen custom icons inspired by everyday life in Hawaii. They give the identity a playful vocabulary to carry across guest materials, objects, and merchandise.
Vintage travel ephemera informed the visual world, recalling the postcards, luggage labels, and printed keepsakes collected along a journey. A little old, a little now: an identity that feels familiar, with a fresh life of its own.
THE EXPERIENCE
The identity carries into room keys, stationery, towels, amenities, door signs, merchandise, and the website.
The surfboard-shaped door sign makes a practical object part of the hotel’s character. The vintage room key brings the vintage spirit into something a guest carries throughout the stay.
Paia Beach House explores how one direction can hold together an entire hospitality concept, from its first impression to the objects guests use every day.
credits
Photography: Megan Nixon, Valkyrie Pierce, Joao Victor, Brandon Cormier, Cody McLain