Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki

Introduction

A map is more than lines and colors on paper — it is an invitation. At the Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki, I was commissioned to design a map that would not only guide hotel guests around the resort but also become the foundation for a wellness initiative: a 1,400-meter walking and running trail designed by Paths of Greece. The purpose was twofold: to help visitors find their way through the property’s landscaped grounds, and to encourage them to actively engage with the environment through movement, exploration, and well-being.

This project demanded a balance between technical accuracy and aesthetic sensitivity. The result needed to be functional for navigation, visually appealing for hospitality branding, and engaging enough to inspire guests to step outside and follow the trail. What follows is the story of how I approached this challenge — from data and digitization to design decisions and final implementation.

Understanding the Context

The Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki is a destination in itself. Beyond the rooms and conference facilities, the grounds are a carefully composed environment of gardens, pathways, pools, and recreational spaces. Guests arriving at the hotel should feel immediately oriented, but also invited to discover.

The challenge here was clear:

• Wayfinding: Guests needed an accessible map to help them navigate the grounds intuitively.
• Trail Visualization: The walking/running route had to be highlighted in a way that was motivating, legible, and consistent with wellness branding.
• Hospitality Aesthetics: The map needed to reflect the atmosphere of the resort — elegant, refined, and inviting, rather than technical or cluttered.
• Precision: Since this was not only a decorative map but also a guide, geospatial accuracy could not be compromised.

This project was therefore not just about drawing a map, but about creating a guest-centered design solution that worked at the intersection of cartography, design, and experience.

Spatial Data Processing

Geospatial Precision – The Base Map

The foundation of every good map is accuracy. I began by digitizing the resort’s spatial footprint in ArcGIS Pro, ensuring that every path, building, and landscaped feature aligned precisely with real-world coordinates (Picture 1).

This process was not merely about drawing; it was about translation: turning raw geospatial data into a cartographic foundation that could later be refined into an expressive design. Attention to scale, alignment, and feature hierarchy was essential here — a misplaced path or a distorted building would not only disrupt the visual integrity but also compromise wayfinding on the ground.

Depth and Realism – Modeling Shadows

Flat maps can often feel sterile, especially in an environment as textured and dimensional as a landscaped resort. To add depth and realism, I modeled shadows and light interactions in ArcGIS Pro. This brought subtle relief to the map, helping features like buildings stand out and giving the viewer a more intuitive sense of space (Picture 2).

These shadow layers were carefully calibrated: strong enough to provide clarity, but restrained to avoid overwhelming the map or competing with symbology.

Material Identification – Designing with Real-World Cues

One of the guiding principles of this project was human-centered design. Guests are not cartographers; they read maps by relating symbols and colors to their lived experience. For that reason, I identified the main materials of the resort’s environment — terracotta roof tiles, pale stone walkways, green lawns, and blue water bodies — and built a design system directly from these cues (Picture 3).

By grounding the symbology in real-world materials, the map immediately feels intuitive: visitors don’t need to “decode” the colors, because they already correspond to what the eye sees on the ground.

Graphic Design Refinement

Refinement in Adobe Illustrator – Shadows, Lines, and Harmony

Once the GIS foundation was established, I exported the project into Adobe Illustrator for design refinement. Illustrator allowed me to fine-tune the shadow treatments, balance line weights, and introduce the textures that give the map its hand-crafted, tactile quality (Picture 4).

This step was where the map shifted from technical base to hospitality-grade design. The priority was to strike the right tone: accurate enough to guide, but artistic enough to feel like part of the resort’s identity.

Color Palette – Echoing the Landscape

With the structure and textures in place, I applied the color palette. The choice of hues was deliberate: muted greens to suggest tranquility, terracotta reds for the roofs to anchor the eye, and calming blues for water features. These colors were selected not only for realism but also for their emotional resonance. Guests should feel that the map belongs to the landscape, while at the same time experiencing a sense of calm and invitation (Picture 5).

Integration – Bringing the Map Together

This was the stage where all layers — lines, shadows, textures, and colors — were harmonized into a cohesive composition. It is here that the map transforms into more than a navigational tool: it becomes a designed experience (Picture 6).

Balancing legibility with beauty required iteration. Too much detail risked clutter; too little would lose the character of the grounds. I refined the contrasts, adjusted the hierarchy of paths versus structures, and ensured that the walking trail could be clearly overlaid without being lost among the other features.

Application – The Signpost Design

The final step was integrating the map into its real-world medium: a signpost located on the resort grounds. This required adapting the map for scale, adding wayfinding elements such as the “You Are Here” marker, and highlighting the 1,400m wellness trail (Pictures 7 and 8).

The signpost was not only an informational object but also part of the guest experience. It needed to communicate clearly in multiple languages, use iconography intuitively, and maintain consistency with Hyatt’s branding standards. Importantly, the design incorporated safety information (“walk and exercise carefully at your own risk”) in a way that was clear yet unobtrusive.

Design Thinking and Problem-Solving

Throughout this project, several design challenges emerged that required careful problem-solving:

• Balancing Aesthetics and Legibility: A resort map must look elegant, but also be clear at a glance. My solution was to use subtle textures and colors that read well both up close and at a distance.
• Trail Integration: The wellness trail needed to be overlaid without confusing it with existing paths. I chose a bold yet harmonious line style that stood out against the muted palette.
• Multilingual Design: With an international guest audience, clarity was paramount. The text design considered hierarchy, typeface legibility, and cultural neutrality.
• Human-Centered Cues: By anchoring the map in real materials, I reduced the cognitive load on guests. The roofs, lawns, and pools were immediately recognizable, even for first-time visitors.

Value for the Client

For Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki, this project delivered value in multiple ways:

• Enhanced Guest Experience: The map helps visitors feel oriented, comfortable, and motivated to explore, reducing confusion and increasing satisfaction.
• Wellness Promotion: By visualizing the walking/running trail, the map supports Hyatt’s wellness initiatives, encouraging healthy activities and outdoor engagement.
• Brand Alignment: The design reflects the hotel’s refined hospitality aesthetic, ensuring that the map feels like part of the brand rather than an external add-on.
• Longevity: Built on a precise geospatial foundation, the map can be updated or repurposed for future signage, print materials, or digital applications.

Reflection

This project was a reminder that maps are not just tools for navigation — they are interfaces of experience. In hospitality settings especially, a map can be the first step toward exploration, relaxation, and memory-making.

As a cartographer and designer, I found great satisfaction in blending the technical rigor of GIS with the expressive possibilities of design software. The end result was not only a product for the client, but also a narrative artifact: a map that tells the story of space, wellness, and hospitality.