Just as a family is not made up of only the people who live in the same house—after all, most Filipinos have relatives who work or reside abroad—home is not just defined by a permanent address but by the warm and familiar feeling a place possesses. Casa Kalaw seeks to be one such place—a place that welcomes home Filipinos who have been away for too long, a haven that embodies the essence of the Filipino family.
For this project, we took inspiration from the locality the brand was located in. The logo, a Palawan hornbill, is an animal you will find nowhere else in the world. The icon's fluid and organic strokes emphasize the resort's promise of ease, warmth, and familiarity while the typeface, a bold serif font, highlights the brand's roots in familial ties and tradition.
Adding to this are illustrations and patterns we created from scratch based on flora and fauna endemic to Palawan, an undertaking that was closely guarded by Ayala's team of scientists.
Lovingly hand-painted illustrations of botanical elements and wildlife present in the El Nido community will be featured exclusively in digital promotional material and collaterals, while digitized versions of the El Nido naturalist illustrations will be used in the brand’s printed applications and collaterals with an option for a more economical use of ink in line with the Lio Estate's focus on sustainability.
Paying homage to those who live in the area, we used sprinklings of Cuyunon (the dialect used in El Nido) in numerous collaterals, making sure to provide English translations for tourists from all corners of the globe.
To further emulate the feeling of a Filipino home, Casa Kalaw also provides spaces where families can eat, play, and live in the comfort of each other’s company with amenities designed for Filipino-sized get-togethers. This sense of home is also established with the use of a warm and familiar tone when talking and with Casa Kalaw's choice of natural and familiar materials and textures.
Casa Kalaw is designed to be a place of warmth and togetherness. It is where we can feel, once again, that family is the root in which we are all grounded. Casa Kalaw was the first to launch of the 3 B&Bs and has since garnered good ratings on travel sites such as TripAdvisor and Booking.com. Staying true to its essence of a Filipino home, it constantly receives good reviews commending its unmatchable hospitality.