Rebranding a Seaside Gem in Manhattan Beach
The Sea View Inn: Sea View Inn faced the challenge of a dated identity that failed to capture the vibrant and laid-back beach atmosphere of Manhattan Beach. We rebuilt the brand and the customer-facing system to match where the company was actually going.
Live since 2023
Breaking Free from a Dated Identity
The Sea View Inn operates in hospitality — a category that demands its own kind of attention from the brand and the buyer journey both. The work that got the company this far had earned its market share. The brand and digital surface area weren’t carrying the weight at the same level the rest of the operation was.
Sea View Inn faced the challenge of a dated identity that failed to capture the vibrant and laid-back beach atmosphere of Manhattan Beach. The existing branding did not differentiate the inn from its competitors, making it difficult to attract new guests. The challenge was to create a fresh, modern identity that embodied the local beach culture and appealed to both visitors and locals.
The brief was a system rebuild — the kind of work captured in our master frame: Crafting a Modern and Hip Seaside Identity. Brand strategy, identity refresh, customer-facing experience design, and the post-launch measurement framework that lets the in-house team extend the work without us in the room.
Crafting a Modern and Hip Seaside Identity
Brand Identity and Illustrations
Capturing the Laid-Back Beach Feeling Commence Studio developed a new brand identity for Sea View Inn that blends modern, hip elements with vintage contemporary vibes.
Numeral Design for Rooms
Giving Each Room Personality To add a unique touch, we designed custom numerals for the rooms, each with its own personality.
Web Design
Encouraging Visitors to Live Like Locals The new website was designed to encourage visitors to experience Manhattan Beach like locals.
Capturing the Laid-Back Beach Feeling
Commence Studio developed a new brand identity for Sea View Inn that blends modern, hip elements with vintage contemporary vibes.
A direct-booking site that bypasses the OTA tax.
Custom site engineered for direct booking — editorial property pages, local-context content, and the booking flow that competes with the OTAs on the buyer's actual needs.
Photography that does the work of selling the place.
On-location photography campaigns capturing rooms, common spaces, food, and experiences. The first thing the buyer judges; the first thing we got right.
The rebranding has transformed our inn. We now have a unique identity that truly captures the essence of Manhattan Beach. Guests love the new look, and our bookings have increased significantly. Comme…
Owner / Operator
Numbers that matter for the engagement.
Brand and storefront, in production.
The rebranding has transformed our inn. We now have a unique identity that truly captures the essence of Manhattan Beach. Guests love the new look, and our bookings have increased significantly. Commence Studio did an incredible job!
Like what you see? Let's talk about your commerce stack.
A 14-day strategic diagnostic — we audit your current stack, identify the friction worth fixing first, and ship a phased plan with sized investments. Fully credited toward an engagement if we move forward together.
What you walk away with
- ✓A measured map of every friction point in your current commerce flow
- ✓Three phased options — minimum, considered, comprehensive
- ✓Sized investments and timelines, no aspirational ranges
- ✓A clear "don't hire us if…" section. We mean it.
