SDCO Partners created a new brand identity, story, and experience for a new hotel called Gardiner House, that celebrates Newport/u2019s way of life.

A 21-room oceanfront retreat on Lee/u2019s Wharf in historic downtown Newport, Gardiner House celebrates the harbor, daffodils, art, literature, the International Yacht Restoration School, restaurants and shops, the Jazz Festival, and rambling houses full of interesting characters eating, laughing, drinking, dancing, talking, playing to the crowd, and spilling out into the yard.

Three friends and lifelong Newporters jumped at the opportunity to create a luxuriously unpretentious hotel on the iconic waterfront that/u2019s reflective of their favorite spaces in Newport and their international travels. A place whose guest suites, cocktail bar, outdoor, and event spaces were so magically inviting they/u2019d want to enjoy them themselves. The warmth and intimacy of friendship, nostalgia, and hospitality became our inspiration for a brand and experience that celebrates Newport/u2019s spirit, culture, art, and way of life.

The hotel/u2019s name, Gardiner House, nods to one of the founder/u2019s middle names /u2014 and his grandfather/u2019s /u2014 a well known impressionist artist whose paintings inspired an iconic mural of mythical birds that adorns the lobby. It also nods to the hotel/u2019s rich connections to nature, its waterfront location, and lush event lawn.

The brand design touches every part of property /u2014 from interior and exterior signage and wayfinding, embossed leather key fobs, branded bureau drawer paper, and in-room materials to uniforms, promotional materials, and matchbooks.

The website features an iconic, opening animation, intuitive interface, illustrated renderings, and vintage photography that invites an array of visitors /u2014 from world travelers to event managers /u2014 to effortlessly book a room, inquire about event spaces, and immerse themselves in a magical universe free from the constraints of time. That ebbs and flows like waves. That moves in rhythms, in seasons, and stanzas.