The Forestis hotel is situated on slopes of the Plose mountain in the South Tyrolean Alps region of northern Italy. The hotel makes much of its geographical position – its mountain air, mild climate, and abundant spring water – not least as having an effect on its guests’ health and well-being.
Stefan Hecht, founder and creative director of Substanz design in Munich, took on the look of the hotel’s own publication, an annual magazine now in its third issue.
The aim of the magazine is to offer hotel guests a publication that sheds some light on the background to the building. Each issue’s choice of paper echoes design elements found in the hotel.
Issue 1, ‘Awakening’, coincided with the opening of the hotel and contained stories about its creation and architecture, while the second issue, ‘Origins’, examined the South Tyrolean region, its forests and the use of wood as a material.
‘I started to work with Forestis on the strategy and the concept of the hotel in 2018 and developed the brand core with them for about a year,’ says Hecht. ‘In 2019 we developed the design and, in 2020, shortly before the July opening, we fine-tuned the wayfinding system and supervised the installation.’
Hecht says the publication’s design mirrors his own concern for ‘substance’. Infographics play an important role; the last few pages of each issue feature an appendix with information about the hotel – the most important details at a glance.
Issue 3 of Forestis, titled ‘Silence’, has just come out. The theme echoes the solitude and quiet that the hotel’s remote location offers.
Papers: Materica Gesso 120g/m2 (180g/m2 for cover)