Acacia

The brief

FAS Hospitality asked us to create a new hotel brand in Saudi Arabia: a community hub built around art, music and culture, with industrial-inspired design and a real commitment to sustainability. But in a crowded market of copycat hotel brands, what was once cool and different has become the norm. So we asked different questions. What if a hotel championed Saudi Arabia's artistic, creative and culinary talent? What if it paired the country's heritage with sustainable design and intuitive technology? The answer was Acacia, a lifestyle hotel that brings art, culture, heritage and technology together, with spaces that keep evolving and where every room and interaction becomes part of a larger story that guests create and share themselves.

The icon

Acacia doesn't really close. It's a café and a place to work in the morning, a gallery in the afternoon and a room full of DJs and live music by night. The icon brings all twenty-four hours into one symbol: a hand-drawn sun, half light and half dark, ringed with rays and stars, as a creative expression of a guest's time at Acacia. That way, the brand always feels like the right time of day. It sits apart from the wordmark so either one can lead, and it was simplified until it worked as well embossed on a key card sleeve as it does moving on a screen.

Typography

We drew a custom typeface for Acacia rather than borrowing one. The upright cut is calm and clear enough to find your room by, and the italics are where it loosens up, on posters, menus and event nights. Between the two, the hotel can whisper or shout without ever sounding like someone else.

Colour

Most hotels pick one signature colour and guard it closely. Acacia takes its palette from the art on its walls and lets guests have a piece of it. Key cards come in different colours, so your stay feels a little more like yours, and the same colours turn up on door hangers, cushions and the art in the rooms. It costs almost nothing to run, and each hotel can turn it up or down to suit its interiors.

Culture

Acacia is built to give Saudi creatives a stage. The gallery hosts exhibitions, workshops and live sets, a creative curator works with local artists, and the kitchen hands the menu to emerging chefs cooking new-wave Saudi food. The identity gives all of it somewhere to live, with a culture guide, event tickets, a podcast and records made with artists, so the best thing guests take home isn't the bathrobe.

The name

In the Saudi landscape, the acacia has always meant hospitality: a tree that offers shade to anyone crossing the desert. The hotel does the same for a different crowd, giving art, culture and community a place to gather, and different stories somewhere to meet.