Abbatt.
Two creative directions for hospitality recruitment
Creative direction · Brand exploration · Digital design · Art direction
Abbatt is a hospitality recruitment service designed to connect hotels, restaurants and event businesses with last minute staffing support.
The brief presented an opportunity to explore how visual identity and digital design could shape the way the service was perceived. I developed two distinct creative directions, each offering a different expression of the brand and its relationship with the hospitality industry.
One direction focused on understated sophistication, drawing inspiration from high-end concierge culture. The other embraced a more expressive personality, using vibrant colour and playful typography to create a distinctive, characterful identity.
Together, the concepts explored two different ways to position Abbatt within the hospitality sector.
The challenge
Finding the right personality for the brand
Hospitality is an industry built around service, experience and attention to detail. For a recruitment service operating in this environment, the brand needed to communicate its purpose while establishing a memorable identity.
The challenge was to explore how Abbatt could express reliability and professionalism without defaulting to a conventional recruitment aesthetic.
Rather than committing immediately to one visual approach, I developed two contrasting directions to explore the possibilities and demonstrate how different creative choices could influence the brand's personality.
Direction one
Understated sophistication
Inspired by high-end concierge services and the traditional experience of being looked after by a butler, this direction explored a more formal and refined expression of Abbatt.
A muted colour palette and considered typography created a restrained visual language, positioning the service around professionalism, discretion and attentive service.
The website and supporting business materials followed the same aesthetic, creating a consistent presentation across digital and business-facing applications.
The intention was to connect Abbatt with the polished service culture associated with premium hospitality.
Direction two
A more playful expression of hospitality
The second direction took a more expressive approach, drawing inspiration from the vibrant colours, distinctive typography and Art Deco aesthetic of The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Bold colour and playful type introduced greater energy and personality, moving away from the restrained conventions of traditional recruitment branding.
This direction explored how Abbatt could stand out through a more memorable visual identity, using character and visual confidence to create a different impression of the service.
As with the first concept, the website and supporting business materials were developed as parts of a connected visual direction.
Abbatt web page design idea 1 - A formal style with muted colours and formal typeface. I pulled inspiration from high end concierge culture and the idea of being served by a butler.
Abbatt business design idea 1 - A formal style with muted colours and formal typeface. I pulled inspiration from high end concierge culture and the idea of being served by a butler.
Abbatt web design idea 2 - A fun style with loud colours and a playful typeface. I pulled inspiration from the grade Budapest hotel, art deco style with vibrant colours.
Abbatt business design idea 2 - A fun style with loud colours and a playful typeface. I pulled inspiration from the grade Budapest hotel, art deco style with vibrant colours.
Translating the concepts into design
Two identities, two different experiences
Both directions were explored across web design and business-facing materials, allowing the visual language to extend beyond a single application.
The website concepts explored how typography, colour and layout could establish the brand's character in a digital environment. The supporting business designs extended the same thinking into additional brand touchpoints.
Developing both applications within each direction helped demonstrate how the concepts could operate as broader creative systems, rather than simply as standalone visual treatments.
The outcome
Exploring the possibilities of the Abbatt brand
The project resulted in two distinct creative directions for Abbatt, each presenting a different way to express the brand's role within hospitality recruitment.
The first offered a refined, service led identity inspired by luxury concierge culture. The second explored a more vibrant and characterful approach, using expressive typography and colour to create a distinctive personality.
The project demonstrates how creative exploration can open up different positioning opportunities for a brand, using visual design to communicate not only what a service does, but also how it wants to be perceived.
The takeaway: Creative direction begins with defining the right character for a brand. By exploring contrasting visual territories, it becomes possible to challenge familiar conventions, uncover new possibilities and make more deliberate decisions about how a business presents itself.
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