The refurbished mansion, located in Istria, Croatia - in the Poreč countryside was originally the 18th-century country summer residence of the noble Gullich family. Today, the majestic villa is named The Castello Gullich and is a popular tourism destination welcoming guests with refurbished rooms and with all the comforts of a beautiful hotel. Due to its proximity, but also since it has a variety of attractions, Istria has lately been becoming a respectable destination for medical tourism companies and patients from Europe, particularly Germany and Austria. That is why one significant part of Castello Gullich’s operations are based on a hospital/accommodation partnership, which is a small, yet critical piece of the recent developments in Croatia’s tourism industry.
As healthcare facilities are in demand more than ever before in Europe, and rising cost pressures force hospitals to discharge patients in a timely fashion to appropriate hotels for further care and therapy. Facilities like Castello Gullich play a crucial role in that ecosystem through the medical tourism and wellness industry. Our client acknowledges the importance of the property’s image within the wider medical and tourism market and highlighted the need for a clearly structured and defined identity system to help clients better connect with this new participant in the medical tourism system and to ensure customer loyalty. Shift has designed a visual identity that is an ode to the timeless charm of the historic building, its exceptional past and the complete peace and beauty that Mediterranean nature can offer.
To capture the essence of this historical building and deliver a unique brand experience we worked in the stylistics of a coat-of-arms which is deeply grounded in Istria’s long tradition of using heraldry for municipal identities as their key communication tool. Additionally, in creating a balanced medical/wellness tourism industry brand, we addressed a range of other tangible and intangible features for the consumer and the interplay of these attractions makes a perfect partnership – the new brand Castello Gullich. The Castello Gullich’s new identity system consists of several graphic components, including a refined cross symbol and the form of a shield already found in many municipalities identities (formed by the shape of a CG monogram) to express the tradition of the building as well as the brand idea of patient care and protection which is at the heart of the client’s business.
The new visual identity system establishes an instantly recognizable brand for the accommodation and medical centre, as it seeks to establish a reputation within Croatia’s medical tourism industry, as well as one which is capable of supporting Castello Gullich in future endeavours and their ambitions for expanding and growing within the international tourism market.
