The Muse Hotel
CATEGORY
Hotel
SERVICES
Brand Identity
DATE
2023
Overview
The Muse Hotel New York sits in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, steps from Times Square and Broadway. After years of serving creative travelers and cultural seekers, the brand needed a refresh that honored its boutique roots while clarifying its positioning and purpose.
Working within the constraint of keeping their existing logo, we developed a refined brand system centered on "Inspiration Everywhere." The result balances sophistication with approachability, turning the hotel into more than a place to stay, it becomes a blank canvas for guests to create their own New York story.
THE OPPORTUNITY
The Muse had strong brand recognition but struggled with messaging that felt abstract and disconnected from the guest experience. Their existing language leaned too heavily on ethereal concepts without grounding them in what the hotel actually offers: a thoughtful home base in one of the world's most inspiring cities.
Key challenges included:
Messaging that needed to feel more tangible and guest-focused
A visual identity that required fresh direction without changing the established logo
The need to differentiate in a competitive Midtown market while maintaining warmth and accessibility
THE SOLUTION
We built the rebrand around a simple truth: New York itself is the muse, and the hotel is where guests begin and end their days of exploration and discovery.
The brand positioning shifted from abstract promises to practical reality—focusing on access, curation, and thoughtful details. With the logo locked, we developed a refined visual system: a monochromatic black and cream palette with Heather Purple as a single accent, paired with a hand-drawn border element that frames content like a blank canvas.
The tone of voice became clear, confident, and warm—stripping away jargon for conversational copy that puts guests at the center. We delivered a comprehensive 52-page brand guide covering everything from messaging foundations to collateral specs, giving The Muse team a flexible system they can apply consistently across all touchpoints.
