For over 50 years the Astir Palace peninsula and its hotel have been a landmark destination of international stature and one of the most coveted areas in Greece. From Jackie Onassis and Rudolf Nureyev to Barack Obama and Lady Gaga, the great and good have sought refuge in the distinct natural beauty of the peninsula.
This natural beauty provided the inspiration for our identity for Four Seasons newly refurbished Astir Palace on the peninsula. Our response was to reflect the abundance of nature that surrounds the pristine coastline of the property. The concept echoes the hotel offering, enhancing the feeling of a perfect escape to the crystal clear waters of the Athenian Riviera.
We ensured that a lightness and sense of luxury was apparent throughout each touch point; through the choice of the typography, the way the illustrations were used, to each individual material selected, special care was taken on each of the hundred-plus items.
The beautiful, simple illustrations reflect the flora commonly found in this part of Greece; pine trees, lemons, lavender, thyme and crocus. We sought to create minimal designs so each object felt like a work of art, using lots of white space to allow the illustration and typography to shine.
The illustrations flow gently across all of the material used within the guestrooms, creating a series of printed objects that express the experience of a stay on the peninsula. Materials that relate to the natural environment were selected, cream and tan paper, textured leather, as well as gold foil.
Designed objects included packaging for cakes and food that create collectible artifacts for guests to remind them of their stay.
All the elements of the rooms design, from the interiors, furniture and lighting to all of the printed objects and product design have been consistently created to integrate harmoniously with one another.
The Service in Room hanger we design features the 'mati', an eye symbol that Greek people believe will safeguard themselves against bad fortune by warding off the glare of the evil eye. Matched with a Greek guards string tassel and brass clips the hanger gently reminds guests where they are...
For the sustainability card, we sourced a local supplier, Phee, that create board from the leaves of seagrass and biological resins. To further incorporate local materials we paired the Phee board with Greek organic cotton that was used for the tassels.
In addition to the illustrations, we discovered an amazing series of historical images that relate to the peninsula. They were used to add a greater narrative to the collateral, such as the In-Room Dining menu and guest postcards.
The menu booklets were created in both Greek and English, as were many other objects designed for the Astir Palace project.
