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Digitalmohawk

08 / Villa Howden

A hotel that had to read in English and Chinese

A site for a boutique hotel on North West Bay in Tasmania, run as a grand villa. Every page is one photograph with the type set inside a gold rule, and the whole site is offered in English and Chinese.

The brief

Villa Howden sells a building and a view, so the site had to get out of the way of the photography. It also takes a lot of guests from China, which meant the whole site had to work in two languages rather than one with a translated page bolted on.

What we built

  1. 01

    One photograph per page, held full bleed, with the type set inside a thin gold rule over the top

  2. 02

    A language switch in the corner of every page, English and Chinese, rather than a separate translated site

  3. 03

    A single overlay menu covering welcome, the villa, accommodation, dining, weddings, reservations and getting here

  4. 04

    Getting Here given a place in the main menu, because the hotel is outside Hobart and that is a real question

  5. 05

    Address, phone and email held on a rule across the bottom of every page

Screens

The welcome page: a full-bleed photograph of the villa, with 'Grand Hotel Villa Howden' set over it inside a gold rule, and the address and phone number along the bottom.
One photograph, one line of type, and the contact details where they can always be found.
The overlay menu, listing Welcome, Villa, Accommodation, Dining, Weddings, Reservations, Getting Here and Contact Us, with an EN and CH language switch beneath.
The whole site in one overlay, with the language switch sitting under the menu rather than hidden in a footer.
The accommodation page: a photograph of a room with blue striped chairs and a made bed, headed 'Sobriety and Excellence'.
Rooms are shown as rooms in a villa, lit the same way as the building outside.

Outcomes

  • The photograph is the page, and the type never fights it

  • Both languages are reachable from anywhere on the site

  • Weddings and dining get their own front doors, since they bring people who are not staying the night

Next project

Sold as a set, and as the cup on its own

Hobart Town Tea Co

Start a brief