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A Boutique Experience, Beautifully Framed

The Hat Maker

The Hat Maker is a captivating four-star boutique hotel in Dungarvan, County Waterford, where thoughtful detail, bold design, and layered history combine to create an exceptional guest experience. Set within a lovingly restored Georgian townhouse, the building once belonged to William Orr—a local hatmaker whose craft now lends the hotel its name, charm, and unmistakable character.

Inside, a maximalist interior unfolds across each floor: a carefully curated mix of antique and contemporary furniture, sumptuous textures, confident colours, and playful patterns that tell stories at every turn.

TOTEM’s challenge was to develop a brand identity and website that captured this distinctive personality—considered yet playful, polished yet delightfully surprising. Our role was to distil the charm and energy of this remarkable space into a cohesive system that felt both natural and distinctive, ensuring every touchpoint brought the complete Hat Maker experience to life.

Simplify

With such richly detailed interiors surrounding us, our first challenge was creating visual breathing space. The Hat Maker’s maximalist design brings vibrancy and contrast to every corner—so the brand identity needed to support and elevate, never compete.

Working closely with the hotel’s founders, we defined a visual system anchored in clarity, elegance, and purposeful restraint. Our key inspiration emerged from an unexpected source: the striking black and white tiled floors that flow throughout the building, subtly connecting each unique space.

This distinctive pattern became our unifying thread, influencing everything from colour palette to layout rhythm. The process of simplification gave us essential clarity—we needed a brand with room to breathe, structured but never rigid, confident enough to let the hotel’s extraordinary personality take centre stage while providing the perfect frame for its stories.

Create

At the heart of our solution sits an elegant serif wordmark—classic and composed, honouring the building’s Georgian heritage while holding its own alongside bold photography and sumptuous interiors. The overall design language reflects The Hat Maker’s signature principles: contrast, curation, and quiet confidence.

The website serves as the digital front door to this experience, designed to be image-led, intuitive, and perfectly reflective of the hotel’s welcoming tone. Room navigation flows naturally and visually, allowing each distinctive space to tell its own compelling story. Those iconic black and white tiles weave throughout as an integrated design feature, shaping both palette and structure across every brand touchpoint.

Typography and tone are carefully calibrated, setting exactly the right expectations for the experience ahead. This wasn’t about replicating the atmosphere digitally—it was about reflecting its essence, giving potential guests a genuine taste of The Hat Maker experience before they even pack their bags.

Empower

The final phase focused on making the identity work seamlessly—consistently, practically, and with genuine care for every detail. From elegant menus and thoughtful signage to beautifully crafted in-room materials, every application was considered to ensure perfect consistency and tone.

The design system we created is intentionally flexible, allowing for seasonal changes, fresh room photography, and evolving guest experiences without ever losing its essential clarity or charm.

The result is a brand that amplifies the experience without interrupting it—present and supportive, but never overwhelming. It creates a seamless journey from initial discovery through to arrival, quietly reinforcing what The Hat Maker represents: exceptional hospitality, creative spirit, and those delightful moments of unexpected charm.

With a strong, cohesive identity now in place, the team can focus entirely on what matters most—delivering a boutique experience that is distinctly, authentically their own.

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