Weave the unique history of a prominent 18th century house into the visual narrative for The Davenport, a fully renovated boutique hotel nestled in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
The house’s most striking feature, a fully intact hand-turned staircase, became the foundation of the brand identity. Each unique baluster, a work of art in itself, felt like the ‘jewelry’ of the interior and formed the property’s main icon.
Known historically as The City of the Open Door, this phrase became a warm and inviting greeting to welcome guests to Portsmouth.
We discovered the home was originally built by a woman named Mary Kelly, a rarity at that point in history. She had worked her way to her fortune from virtually nothing, hand-weaving nets for the fisherman in the Great Bay. A custom netting pattern sprinkled throughout the brand collateral pays homage to her.
The brand suite includes various logo versions referencing the passage of time and the differing styles that had found their way into the culture in New England over the years.
