The Water Rat Hotel

The Water Rat is amongst South Melbourne’s oldest hotels in an area rich with ‘watering holes’. Rather unfortunately, it is perhaps best known for the 1973 murder of union secretary Pat Shannon, gunned down in the hotel’s front bar. Immensely popular in the 1990s but less so of late, the hotel recently changed hands. We were asked to provide a fresh identity for the Water Rat, part of the new owner’s strategy for rejuvenation. Incorporating a traditional shield motif, a set of customised icons and a sophisticated colour palette, the identity was developed to complement Eades and Bergman’s elegant interiors. The playful system was implemented out across numerous items including menus, uniforms, function folders and a website.