Building a sustainable resort brand from the ground up
Zuri Zanzibar is a five-star sustainable resort combining contemporary luxury with Tanzanian culture and island calm. We built its complete brand world from the ground up, from the logo and visual identity to resort-wide wayfinding and signage, F&B outlet branding, guest materials, amenities and every branded touchpoint across the property.
Type
Services & Industry
"Where modern-meets-traditional African" design
„Their work was chosen among four specialized hotel designers for the logo of our resort Zuri Zanzibar and then to create our entire visual identity with our sales team. They listened to the brief, showed eagerness to get more details and then put their heart and soul into our project.
I cannot recommend them enough as they have created a fantastic and easily recognizable logo, visual identity and a truly unique Zuri brand style.“
— Václav Dejčmar, Co-owner of Zuri Zanzibar Hotel & Resort, RSJ Group, DOX
Challenge
We were honored to meet the exhilarating challenge of creating a full brand image for one of Africa's most magnificent hotel resorts. The Zuri Zanzibar Hotel & Resort is a truly unique place where modernity meets the historic and blends together in perfect harmony. The footprint of Tanzanian culture is instantly recognisable as it runs throughout the architecture and interior of the resort.
"Zuri" means "beautiful" in Swahili and it's easy to see why this Czech made resort bears this name.
Solution
It was our aim to capture the personality of Zuri, to think of Zuri as a lifestyle, to represent the complete Zuri experience. A vital aspect of our design process was to ensure that the roots of traditional Tanzanian design were evident in our solutions.
Zuri's philosophy is ‘’stop doing and start being’’ this fundamental message was foremost in our minds and inspired us throughout the entire creative process. With each of our design choices we strived to ensure that Zuri’s guests were helped to feel truly present in the moment.
Designed to be
As the first Design Hotels™ member on the Tanzanian archipelago, Zuri Zanzibar is the ultimate spot to take in the natural beauty of the property’s setting on the main island of Unguja.
The unique place where the modern-meets-traditional African design running throughout the hotel architecture and interior (Jestico + Whiles ) along with graphic design, proudly produced by our studio. “Zuri” means “beautiful” in Swahili, which this czech-made resort surely is.
Creating the identity of ZURI from the scratch was a real challenge, because we’ve always thought of it as the PERSONALITY, the LIFESTYLE - the complex ZURI EXPERIENCE.
“Stop "doing" and start
"being". Because, ultimately,
- we are human beings, not human doings!”
emphasizes Václav Dejčmar, the owner and initiator of the whole Zuri project. We kept this thought in our minds through the whole creative process and with each of our design choices we strived to let Zuri’s guests to be truly present in the moment.
A symbol of presence
ZURI LOGO is inspired by carvings in typical wooden doors mostly found in the Stone Town in Zanzibar. The motive of lotus flower represents the ZEN concept of the resort, which we emphasized with almost hypnotizing centered shapes to embody one the main pillar of ZURI experience which is “to be present, to just be”.
Lean typography is based on african sculptures, its long proportions, in combination with african hand-drawn typography.
Explore the resort
To ease customers orientation within the complex before booking or while on site, we have designed overview map of the whole resort as well as maps for each of the 55 bungalows, suites and villas, which are organized in clusters, mirroring a typical African village.
Each cluster associating multiple residential units has been named by Swahili words.
When desiging symbol for each cluster, we came out of the umbrella ZURI’s logo and used one of the lotus petal keep
consistency but create different story/meaning.
Zuri accomodation
Respecting the local enviroment and sustainability, amenities and design items within the zuri bungalows, suites and villas are precisly considered not only in the architecture and interior design but also in the product and graphic design.
Desigining with recycled papers, creating refilable cosmetics dispensers or using local handmade products all together to create the natural zuri experience
Zuri in print
The Zuri identity extends across a complete range of printed materials, from business cards, stationery and envelopes to brochures, postcards and guest communication. Natural textures, warm earthy tones and subtle embossed details create a tactile visual language inspired by Zanzibar’s landscape, craftsmanship and relaxed atmosphere. At the heart of the system is the Zuri Book - a wooden guest directory containing all essential resort information, complemented by a notebook with a locally made pencil, complimentary postcards and small gifts such as scents from Zuri’s spice garden or handmade bead bracelets. Together, these elements turn everyday communication into a thoughtful part of the overall Zuri experience.
Zuri outlets
Zuri Zanzibar’s outlets extend the resort’s main identity into a series of distinct experiences, each with its own atmosphere while remaining part of the same visual world. From dining and cocktails to wellness and social spaces, every outlet was designed to reflect a specific mood, creating a cohesive brand ecosystem rooted in relaxed island luxury, local character, and understated sophistication.
Upendo brings refined warmth to fine dining, Maisha captures the energy of music and social connection, Peponi reflects effortless seaside calm, Bahari embraces the bold, tactile spirit of a beachside grill, and Maua introduces a softer, more contemplative language for wellness and restoration. Together, the identities give each venue a strong individual personality while preserving the consistency and sense of place that define the wider Zuri Zanzibar experience.
Result and evaluation
We worked with natural materials and recycled paper to create an environmentally conscious theme. Our designs for refillable cosmetics dispensers further enforced this environmentally friendly model. The Zuri logo was incorporated as a stamp for handmade soap bars which are manufactured locally by the Zanizibarian women.
The visual concept we envisaged is felt seamlessly as you pass throughout the resort and all its retail outlets. It resonates from the boho chic restaurants and vibrant beach bars to the lush zen spas and wellness centres enhancing the guests enjoyment of the complete Zuri experience.
