STORY DNA™
We see beyond the obvious — and reveal what makes a hotel unforgettable.
We look beyond the obvious to define what makes the hotel truly its own
Story DNA™
PURPOSE
Story DNA™ defines the soul and distinctive identity of a hospitality project before design decisions dilute what makes it unique. A memorable hotel has more than beautiful spaces. It has a point of view, a sense of place and a character that feels unmistakably its own. Puricelli Design brings together hospitality experience, design culture, spatial intelligence and senior creative judgement to uncover what should make a particular property unmistakably its own.
Ideal for new hotels and resorts, repositioning projects and hospitality destinations that need a clear identity before architecture, interiors, branding and guest experience develop in different directions.
THE ENGAGEMENT
A strategic creative engagement for hotels, resorts and hospitality destinations that need more than a design concept. Puricelli Design looks beyond style and visual references to understand the deeper character of the project: its place, architecture, history, audience, ambition, cultural context, competitive environment and the experience it has the potential to create. Through this lens, seemingly separate ingredients begin to form one distinctive identity. The objective is not to manufacture a story around a hotel. It is to recognise what is meaningful, original and worth amplifying - and translate it into a clear creative framework for the project.
Typical applications: new hotel and resort concepts; repositioning and renovation; heritage or adaptive-reuse hospitality; destination and sense-of-place strategy; boutique hotels; resort identity; guest-experience concepts; spatial storytelling; brand and design alignment; creative direction; projects where multiple consultants require one coherent creative foundation.
THE PROCESS
01 READ
Read the project beyond the brief - its place, architecture, culture, audience, ambition, context and existing clues - identifying qualities that a conventional design process can easily overlook.
02 REVEAL
Find the idea with the greatest potential to give the property character, emotional relevance and its own unmistakable sense of identity.
03 DEFINE
Shape that idea through experienced creative judgement into a clear Story DNA™ - establishing the project’s point of view, guest promise, emotional character and principles of experience.
04 TRANSLATE
Give the identity physical and experiential expression through spatial character, materiality, atmosphere, guest journey, rituals, sensory moments and carefully considered details.
05 SAFEGUARD
Use the Story DNA™ as a creative compass throughout development - helping the client and project team recognise what strengthens the concept, what weakens it and what simply does not belong.
CLIENT OUTCOME
A distinctive hospitality identity that gives owners, designers, operators and brand teams one clear creative foundation for making better decisions throughout the project.
Story DNA™ turns an early ambition into a coherent point of view - helping the property become more recognisable, more emotionally resonant and less vulnerable to generic design or dilution as the project develops.
→ The property gains an identity that could belong to no other place.
→ Design moves beyond aesthetic coordination to become an expression of place, character and intended guest experience.
→ Decisions across architecture, interiors, branding, programming and operations can be guided by one clear creative intelligence.
→ The project develops recognisable moments, atmosphere and details that guests can emotionally connect with and remember.
→ Owners and project teams gain greater clarity when evaluating ideas, references and design proposals - because there is a defined reason behind what belongs and what does not.
→ The original vision is less vulnerable to dilution as more consultants, disciplines and decisions enter the project.
NEXT STAGE
Story DNA™ may remain as the defining creative framework for the client and project team, or become the foundation for hospitality concept development, guest-experience strategy, interior architecture / design direction, spatial storytelling, creative direction or wider Puricelli Design involvement.
STORY DNA™ | PURICELLI DESIGN
WAYS TO APPOINT
Story DNA™ Discovery - a focused strategic review to identify the strongest existing qualities, opportunities and defining idea within a project.
Story DNA™ Study - the complete strategic creative engagement - defining the property's identity, point of view, guest promise, experiential principles and creative direction.
Story DNA™ Workshop - a concentrated working session with owners, developers, operators or design teams to uncover, test or align the project's defining idea and key experience principles.
Ongoing Story DNA™ Advisory - continued creative stewardship through selected project stages, helping the team evaluate design, branding, guest experience and operational decisions against the agreed Story DNA™.
TYPICAL PROJECT SCALE
Story DNA™ is not determined by floor area. It can be applied to an intimate boutique hotel, a resort, a hospitality-led mixed-use development or a selected repositioning programme within an existing property.
The appropriate engagement is determined by the complexity of the project, number of stakeholders, development stage and depth of creative definition required — rather than physical size alone.
TYPICAL DELIVERABLES
Depending on the appointment, outputs may include Story DNA™ definition; project positioning and defining idea; identity principles; guest promise; sense-of-place strategy; experiential pillars; spatial character and atmosphere; guest-journey principles; signature moments and rituals; material and sensory direction; creative references; design and brand alignment principles; Story DNA™ framework; priority recommendations; and guidance for subsequent design development.
