Pod help us: Designworks’ no-nonsense brand for pod-style hostel LyLo embraces simplicity and soul

In an active effort to reinvent the public image of hostels, following not only the general misconceptions behind the sociable lodging but the travel industry’s necessary financial recovery following COVID, Australasian hotelier LyLo offers what the savvy traveller is looking for – a quality place to stay that won’t burn a hole in your pocket. Manifesting in beautifully crafted, pod-style accommodation, LyLo hopes to appeal to a broad spectrum of patrons, from both local and international travellers, in part due to the democratisation of quality accommodation, and likewise due to its no-nonsense identity, courtesy of Auckland-based creative studio Designworks. Led by the notion of simplicity with soul, Designworks’ approach to branding LyLo mirrored the hostel’s own restrained methodology – only ever including what feels necessary, whilst simultaneously conveying the character and candour expected from the organisation. As such, the studio implemented an elementary yet ultimately engaging amalgam of system, colour and type, led by Agipo from Radim Pesko as the hero typeface for the brand. “We wanted a typeface that could channel the energy and youthfulness behind the name,” Senior Designer Liam Ooi tells us, recalling the reasoning behind the brand’s choice of typeface. “The Bold Condensed style is a perfect match for Lylo’s punchy, rhythmic brand language,” he adds, noting the personality-driven verbal identity integral to the hostel’s tone of voice, a vibe mirrored in the welcoming colour choices. “The strength of Agipo means it can do a lot of the heavy lifting and makes it easy for the LyLo team to use day-to-day,” Ooi continues, concluding, “I’d also been wanting to use Agipo for a while, so it was great to finally find the right project for it!”