A new hotel name and experience tuned to Chicago music, nightlife, and technology.
00 / Overview
Giving a renovated Chicago hotel its own voice.
As the property prepared to leave the House of Blues hotel flag and renovate, it needed a new name, identity, and complete guest-facing brand. Agency689 created Hotel SAX Chicago and carried the idea through the property, website, booking funnel, collateral, Crimson Lounge, opening campaign, launch event, and a pioneering Microsoft-powered gaming floor.
Role Naming / Brand and Launch Direction
Client Hotel SAX Chicago
Services Naming / Visual Identity / Logo Design / Hotel Website Design / Booking Funnel / Property Collateral / Nightlife Branding / Opening Campaign and Event / Guest-Experience Design
01 / Naming
A name with the range of the human voice.
The saxophone is one of the instruments closest in tone to the human voice. “SAX” connected that expressive quality to Chicago’s music culture while giving the hotel a short, memorable name with a confident nightlife edge.
02 / Hotel Identity
One idea, carried through the stay.
The identity extended from logo and property materials to room collateral, sales communications, the full website, and booking journey. Agency689 also worked closely with the architecture team so the brand and renovated environment developed in conversation.
03 / Crimson Lounge
A nightlife identity inside the hotel brand.
Agency689 named and branded Crimson Lounge, collaborated with the architectural team, and produced the opening campaign and event. Samantha Ronson performed at the launch, helping give the new hotel an immediate cultural moment.
04 / Microsoft Gaming Floor
Turning compact rooms into a connected gaming experience.
Agency689 helped bring Microsoft into the project as a technology partner. Small rooms on one floor became individual gamer suites linked to a central Xbox gaming center, where guests could play popular titles across a shared network. The experience gave the hotel a distinctive technology story and generated substantial press attention.
05 / Launch and Response
A new name that entered Chicago culture quickly.
Hotel SAX opened to strong press attention and became one of the city’s most talked-about hotels during its launch period. The gaming floor and Crimson Lounge gave media and guests more than a renovation to cover: they made the brand tangible as entertainment.