Brand Strategy

Brand Strategy

Space

Space

Exprience

Exprience

Naming

Naming

Identity Design

Identity Design

Shilla Monogram, A new name for an unmapped territory

Year

2019

Client

Hotel Shilla

Timeframe

1 year

As

Lippincott Team

BRIEF

The structural problem was clear: The Shilla sat at the top as a luxury icon; Shilla Stay occupied the upscale tier but was increasingly perceived as midscale - making it difficult to win upper upscale management contracts. With overseas opportunities emerging in Da Nang, Hanoi, Hue, and LA, Hotel Shilla Group needed a new brand to fill the gap: Upper Upscale, lifestyle-oriented, and capable of carrying The Shilla's heritage into new markets. The complexity started with the name - this would be the first new brand naming convention in Hotel Shilla Group's history, with international trademark clearance required across multiple markets from the outset.

The structural problem was clear: The Shilla sat at the top as a luxury icon; Shilla Stay occupied the upscale tier but was increasingly perceived as midscale - making it difficult to win upper upscale management contracts. With overseas opportunities emerging in Da Nang, Hanoi, Hue, and LA, Hotel Shilla Group needed a new brand to fill the gap: Upper Upscale, lifestyle-oriented, and capable of carrying The Shilla's heritage into new markets. The complexity started with the name - this would be the first new brand naming convention in Hotel Shilla Group's history, with international trademark clearance required across multiple markets from the outset.

SOLUTION

Shilla Monogram - a lifestyle hotel brand built on Signature Sophistication: the quiet confidence of The Shilla's heritage reinterpreted through each destination's local character. The Monogram mark distils The Shilla's commitment to genuine, thoughtful service into a single timeless symbol. The name itself wasn't the client's first choice - but Lippincott made the case for why it was the right one for the brand, and the client came to embrace it so fully that it became a point of internal pride. The complete brand system spans visual identity, spatial identity, tone of voice, and customer experience - with The Shilla's signature service DNA adapted to local context rather than replicated wholesale. The first property opened on Non Nuoc Beach in Da Nang, Vietnam: establishing the template for the group's broader Asia-Pacific expansion.

MY ROLE

Completed as Brand Strategist/Designer at Lippincott Seoul


  • Brand strategy: platform, positioning, and concept development

  • Naming development and international trademark strategy

  • Brand target persona and competitive benchmarking

  • Brand tone & manner and moodboard direction

  • Brand strategy oversight: ensuring design development remained anchored to the strategic brief throughout the creative process

  • Customer experience design

  • Spatial identity

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The right answer begins with a better question

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hojo

Brand strategist and designer working at the intersection of systems thinking, identity, and experience

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The right answer begins with a better question

Whether it's a brand, a system, or something harder to name

hojo

Brand strategist and designer working at the intersection of systems thinking, identity, and experience

You can also email me at:

The right answer begins with a better question

Whether it's a brand, a system, or something harder to name

hojo

Brand strategist and designer working at the intersection of systems thinking, identity, and experience

You can also email me at:

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