"Like Home but Different"

I'm particularly fond on this 'community' page in the magazine of the Fairmont Hotel Group. They have collected an assortment of photographs from Instagram of their community of guests experiencing meaningful moments within their hotels and resorts. Some may look at this pessimistically and say that it is a brilliant marketing tactic. Although I believe that the integration of social media with their print magazine strengthens their brand identity, I feel the message behind this simple act is significant and if it can be integrated into experience, has the power to improve how we experience the everyday. 

For me, everything about this page spread says “like home but different.” Home in the sense that it is a place to have experiences as a family; home in that you feel safe; home in that pets are welcome. Yet it is different from home in that it is a place to have new experiences, from seeing the world from a new perspective, enjoying the multi sensory experience of eating food by someone who loves cooking and seeing a staircase that is so remarkable you want to share it with your friends and family. An environment of safety yet an environment of self selected growth. And in time you will look back and say “wow, I want to do that again. That was awesome.”

As I work on my sketch of an the interior of an educational environment, I will take these principles into consideration. How do we make the everyday experience of learning so beautiful, fascinating and awe-inspiring that you want to take a selfie? Maybe then we’ll have less young people asking ‘why they am I at school?’ 

Words by Natasha J. Hussein