NOT A HOTEL
Global expansion for state-of-the-art home ownership
NOT A HOTEL is a Japan-based company that partners with the world’s top architectural talent to offer a new type of vacation home. Located in scenic areas throughout Japan, homes are available for full or fractional purchase.
While the co-ownership service took off amongst domestic audiences in Japan, its next stage for growth was to attract a global audience. In close collaboration with NOT A HOTEL’s leadership, Takram led the charge in repositioning the brand for global expansion and developing a new website that reflects this ambition.
Defining an Overseas Audience
With the U.S. market being NOT A HOTEL’s North Star for global expansion, we first defined a target persona to guide our brand repositioning. Given the financial commitment of buying a property overseas, we decided to target ultra-high-net-worth individuals as the most viable point for entry.
Within that demographic, we identified a niche group whose interests revolve around “Japanese culture”, “new luxury”, and “High Art”: Collectors and investors, cultural tastemakers, Japan enthusiasts, and art devotees who seek creative inspiration in their daily lives and have an appreciation for rare, one-of-a-kind experiences and products.
“Inspire Living” and Clarifying Value
Based on the needs of our target audience, we uncovered a brand idea called “Inspire Living”, which encapsulates NOT A HOTEL’s commitment to architectural excellence, as well as inspiring owners to imagine new and unconventional ways of living.
Given their unique business model, it was crucial that we articulate benefits for owners in clear and digestible language, highlighting key values such as “flexible ownership”, “multi-locational living”, and “personal concierge” services. We also took care in demonstrating corporate credibility by crafting an “About Us” narrative that provides insight into the company, as well as “behind the scenes” content that brings creators to the forefront of each property.
Forging a Bold New Look
Building upon an existing brand presence in Japan, NOT A HOTEL initially sought to maintain much of the understated, minimalist elements of its original brand. However, this alone felt incomplete, lacking a distinct identity and failing to effectively convey the brand’s grandiose vision.
We refreshed the design language by emphasizing the modernist look and infusing more of the bold, cutting-edge attitude that emerged from our conversations with NOT A HOTEL’s leadership. The result is a more confident and captivating identity with an air of refinement, characterized by the use of expansive imagery, bold typography, and clean graphics.
A Transportive Web Experience
With the goal to wow and inspire prospective buyers, we designed an immersive web experience that uniquely showcases the beauty and visionary spirit of NOT A HOTEL properties directly on customers' screens. Large, heroic imagery transports the viewer to their dream homes, while dramatic portraits of the architects and designers elevate their presence.
In doing so, we transformed the often stressful home-buying experience into an exciting one, similar to discovering and buying a piece of coveted art. Through intuitive information architecture and optimized user flow, we enhanced the ease of purchase by allowing users to browse seamlessly, find personal assistance at the right moments, and dive deep behind-the-scenes for a more thrilling and engaging experience.
Project Information
Project Team
- Project Direction: Motosuke Fukuda
- Brand Strategy: Mari Iwahara
- Design Direction: Kosuke Futsukaichi
