In the past several months we have been doing some design work for the renowned luxury brand Raffles. The original Raffles hotel in Singapore is over 100 years old, first opening its doors in 1887!

Charlie Chaplain, Pablo Neruda, Ava Gardner and Rudyard Kipling have all, at one point, stayed at the Raffles. It is also where the famed drink Singapore Sling was invented.

 



If you google “raffles doorman” you’ll find thousands of photos of the current doorman from the original Raffles hotel. That’s because some say that he is the most photographed person in Singapore.
 

 

The symbol on the logo was designed by Peter Horridge and depicts a drawing of the Traveler’s Palm. The Traveler’s palm can be found in Africa, particularly Madagascar, and whose leaves are always said to rest in an east to west direction, thus serving as an informal compass. The tree also stores water and can come in handy to long-distance walkers :-p

Upon checking into any Raffles hotel or resort, guests are greeted by staff who each wears a Traveler’s Palm pin, to signify that they have found their way home. Raffles destinations include Beijing, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Makati, Seychelles, Makkah, Tianjin, Paris and Singapore.

We’ve been really fortunate to have had the chance to work with such a storied brand. The Happy Garaje design team has been creating ads and marketing collateral for Raffles Residences Makati and Raffles Estates Praslin.