Brand identity and website for a restored Port St Mary landmark.

Halfway through the renovation of Manxonia House, the builders took down an old door. Behind the frame, hidden for decades, was a period sun motif pressed into the original design. Nobody had known it was there. That detail inspired the brand. And in some ways, it became the story of the whole project. Something valuable that had always been there, waiting to be uncovered.

Kellas is a hospitality venue in Manxonia House, Port St Mary, Isle of Man. DotPerformance designed and built the brand identity, visual system, and website for Kellas, drawing from the building's original architectural details including a hidden period sun motif that became the brand mark. The project included wordmark design, iconmark, colour palette, typography, brand guidelines, signage, collateral, and a full website with online booking.

A town waiting to come back

Port St Mary had been losing its rhythm. The kind of slow fade that happens to small coastal towns when the places people gather start to close or go quiet. Manxonia House was one of those places. A building with history, sitting underused, its potential obvious to anyone who walked past.

The renovation changed that. But a renovated building without an identity is just a nice space. It doesn't draw people in. It doesn't give a town a reason to talk about it.

Kellas gave the building a name and a voice.

Build the identity from the building

The easy option was something polished and generic. A hospitality brand that could belong anywhere. The harder option was to build an identity from the building itself. Its history. Its materials. Its surprises.

We chose the harder option.

• Wordmark built around the Jemina typeface, modified letter by letter until the weight and rhythm felt right. Warm, assured, specific to this place.
• Sun motif from that hidden door became the centrepiece of the brand mark. A detail the building kept to itself for years, now the first thing you see.
• Iconmark stripped the brand down further. The initial letter held within two ellipses. Simple enough to work embroidered on linen, printed on a menu, or reduced to a favicon.
• Full identity system spanning colour palette, typography, brand guidelines, signage, and collateral. Each element drawn from the same source material so the brand holds together everywhere it appears.

Extend it to every screen

The website followed. Online booking, afternoon tea, venue hire, the full scope of what Kellas offers, designed to work across every device. Clear navigation, fast performance, and a tone of voice that matches the experience of walking through the door.