Oglebay Park Resort
For over 100 years Oglebay’s historic generosity has flourished in the natural landscape of West Virginia. A longstanding and beloved icon, Oglebay Park Resort partnered with FINE to elevate its stature from regional treasure to national destination, covering a range of initiatives from property-wide placemaking and identity evolution to the development of distinct stay experiences in multiple neighborhoods across the 2,000-acre campus. Named one of America’s Top Resort Destinations by U.S. News & World Report, Oglebay is a place like no other.
Uniquely Oglebay
A cohesive brand discovery, strategy, and positioning exercise helped to uncover, clarify, and celebrate Oglebay's unique blend of historic charm, natural beauty, and wildly diverse offerings. Revealing a year-round destination, set amidst the woodlands of West Virginia, Oglebay nurtures recreation, connection, enrichment, and growth for the whole community, both near and far.
A Place Like No Other
To create a unified sense of place across Oglebay's 2,000-acre property, a comprehensive placemaking, brand landscape, and communications strategy was developed that identified, named, and positioned over 10 energy centers as unique, stand-alone destinations. Each with their own perspective, vibe, and dynamic offerings, thoughtful enhancements to guest experience touchpoints and robust storytelling bring it all to life.
Reimagined Identities Celebrate a New Era
FINE established a unified visual system of identities for the primary brand along with multiple neighborhoods and offerings, all following a naming convention that honors and reinforces Oglebay as the flagship brand. The main mark builds upon the welcoming nature of Oglebay’s original logo, incorporating natural curves with a custom and modern sans serif font, and a more contemporary Oglebay O and tree icon.
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The Historic Heart
As the premier gathering place and heart of every stay, the Oglebay Lodge and neighboring stay experiences (Homes, Cottages, Cabins) create an activated, social-centric atmosphere that welcomes day-to-night connection, relaxation, and revelry. A cohesive visual identity and extended color palette bring clear distinction to lodging types, alongside diverse amenities that enrich time spent together.
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Elevated Sporting for All
A re-envisioned Oglebay Sporting Center captures a broader, emerging audience with the spirit of a beloved community center and the irresistible amenities of a world-class athletic social club—where outdoor adventure meets modern wellness for community residents and resort guests of all ages. The identity system introduces a refined monogram seal aligned with the resort brand, activated by movement-driven linear and field-inspired linework patterns, and providing versatility across digital platforms, wearables, and sporting accessories.
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The Natural Wonder of Oglebay
The Oglebay Zoo is re-envisioned with upgrades to the name, brand identity, guest experience, wayfinding, and new merchandising opportunities. With the only luxury lion lodging stay experience in the United States—offering guests an immersive, nose-to-nose connection with nature—Oglebay Zoo is designed to inspire wildlife conservation and spark lasting curiosity as a harmonious haven where education, recreation, and meaningful encounters with wildlife thrive.
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A Transformation of Dining Destinations
A diverse collection of remodeled and branded food and beverage concepts in collaboration with RealFood Hospitality involved naming, positioning, visual identities, and execution across tableware touchpoints, menu concepts, uniforms, sonic branding, and guest experience. Together they work to elevate resort offerings and serve the dynamic dining needs of diverse audiences.
Rise, Rally, Revel at Skyline Kitchen & Bar
Skyline Kitchen and Bar is Oglebay’s 3-meal convivial flagship restaurant. This fully reimagined space and concept was created to elevate the experience of all-day dining at the lodge: a destination for crave-worthy classics set to the scene of verdant views and shareable spectacles. The identity celebrates the humble beauty of the natural expanse surrounding Oglebay through a look and feel that follows the terrain and echoes the sun’s rise and set.
Bold Flavors for Big Moments at Trace Chophouse
Oglebay’s second flagship restaurant, Trace Chophouse blazes the way with fireside signatures in the heart of Oglebay lodge. Designed as a destination for romantic dinners or post-golf indulgence, the visual identity picks up on the style of etched trail markers paired with a bold logo carved from Tracers’ past. The sharpened notches within the letterforms, weathered with age, press into elevated materials to provide lavish depth and the markings of a new era in West Virginia.
Guilded Age Heritage at Hickman Lounge
Hickman Lounge is a once underused space reimagined with a jewel box bar that plays host to a range of pre- and post-function gatherings and lively pop-ups. The visual identity draws from Oglebay’s rich history and Gilded Age heritage, combining modernized serif letterforms with the elegance of a calligraphy-inspired script for balance. Subtle double line strokes in the brandmark add a sense of motion. A complementary color palette, inspired by the area’s natural beauty, supports the refined aesthetic. Designed for versatility, the brand extends across guest touchpoints like snifters, whiskey stones, and metallic-glinted coasters to elevate the lounge experience.
Good Days Start at Sarita’s
On the first floor of Oglebay Lodge, you’ll find a renovated classic barista-style coffee bar. Sarita’s shares a new story of a familial Oglebay figure with a visual identity that brings her hospitable persona to the foreground by using her written signature as an authentic mark across branded collateral like coffee cups, pastry bags, and latte art.
An Ongoing Legacy of Hospitality
The legacy of Oglebay and the evolved brand shines through its people. With the creation and implementation of an employee brand experience and service standards, employees are empowered to create enriching experiences for guests and locals, while also being a part of and sharing Oglebay’s legacy, and advancing in their work through training and growth opportunities.
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An Enriching Digital Experience
A final piece of the FINE and Oglebay partnership centered on the creation of a new website that captures the full promise of all there is to do at Oglebay and strengthens its digital foundation for years to come. Through this new digital experience Oglebay is able to increase revenue, improve brand awareness and understanding of the offerings, and fulfill its commitment to the community it calls home—enabling all to take full advantage of the diverse offerings.
