When the newly-built Residence Inn in Berkeley, CA reached out to our team, they were looking to develop a brand identity for their rooftop lounge, Study Hall, that would appeal as much to local students as it would to parents visiting from out of town. The university and surrounding area has a long reputation for embracing free-thinking and free-spirited ideals. As such, the name Study Hall acts as a coy pun alluding to mischievous behavior concealed by academia. Our team crafted a visual identity and supporting collateral that was equally cheeky, irreverent and a touch nostalgic.

Our team developed an identity that combines traditional elements of academia (such as monograms, notebooks and library cards) punctuated with rebellious alterations like warped collages, mismatched lettering and sticker-like graphics. The primary wordmark was crafted from classic serif letterforms, which convey an authoritativeness, yet are accented with playfully swooping swashes like greek fraternity symbols gone awry. The color palette pulls muted tones from textbook pages and lined notebook paper paired with saturated greens and ochre that nod to conventional university color combos. A custom monoline illustration of the Berkeley campus library acts as a subtle tie that connects the concept to the university without implying they are directly related. Renaissance paintings and vintage illustrations based on classic novels were distorted through custom collages that combine different textures with color overlays and irregular compositions. The overall identity and supporting collateral work together to communicate a disregard of traditional conventions and norms in a way that still feels light-hearted and charming.