Information design company Applied Information Group (AIG) has created the first iPad installation in the UK and the first iPad apps for a hotel in this country. Apple iPads have been brought over from the USA weeks ahead of their UK launch and adapted by AIG for guests staying in seven luxury suites at The Berkeley, the 5-star hotel in Knightsbridge owned by Maybourne Hotel Group. The project is a collaboration with Construct, the boutique design agency that is the brand guardian of The Berkeley as well as sister hotels Claridge’s and The Connaught.

Adopting the iPad builds on The Berkeley’s 100-year tradition of embracing the very latest in fashionable amenities. At the turn of the century, it was the only place in London where young ladies could dine unchaperoned. In the Twenties, it was the first hotel in the country to install central heating and double glazing. Earlier this year, The Berkeley selected its new kitchen ovens based on their ‘green’ credentials.

The Berkeley iPad opens with a branded homepage, linking to three brand-new Berkeley iPad apps and a selection of appropriate web links. Through their iPad, guests get instant access to an ‘Insider’s Guide’ to the Knightsbridge area; the hotel’s quarterly guest magazine, Maybourne Papers, and its food and beverages guide, You Are Where You Eat, as well as national and international newspapers. New iPad apps will be added to The Berkeley iPad when they become available.

AIG has extensive experience in creating intuitive and clear visual communications through new and traditional media and its softwares and mobile phone apps are at the leading edge of improved information delivery in public spaces. The group is well known for its development of city centre pedestrian information across the UK, in which the new media has an important part to play.

Commenting on the innovative iPad project, AIG partner Tim Fendley said, ‘To be an early adapter and not just an early adopter of the iPad is very exciting. The experience of designing The Berkeley iPads confirms our view that it will have a radical impact on the way we access information in the future. It’s a brilliant innovation, intuitive and fluid, and the purposes that we put it to will only be limited by our own ingenuity.’

AIG has worked closely with Construct to ensure that the in-house adaptation of the iPad is in keeping with the overall brand identity of the hotel. Construct was responsible for the design and editorial content of the Maybourne Papers and You are Where You Eat guide, and is currently working on an extensive programme refining The Berkeley’s visual identity that will be unveiled in June 2010.

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Editor’s Notes

Applied Information Group
AIG is a multi-disciplinary firm of information designers based in London and Vancouver. AIG works on identity, environmental and digital projects with an information design approach that emphasises usability, accessibility, innovation and commercial sense.
www.appliedinformationgroup.com

Construct
Construct describes itself as a design boutique. This reflects its size, its clientele and its dedication to the authentic, the specialist and the sophisticated. Central to this is a commitment to carefully considered, beautifully crafted and ethical solutions. Construct helps clients achieve their goals through strategic consultation and art direction as well as the design of identities, packaging and print. Luxury hotels, chic fashion houses, elegant cultural spaces and unique ateliers feature on their client list.
www.constructlondon.com

Maybourne Hotel Group
Maybourne Hotel Group whose headquarters is in Mayfair, London, owns and manages The Berkeley, Claridge’s and The Connaught, three of the world’s most renowned hotels. Maybourne hotels are committed to delivering authentic and unique guest experiences that reflect the individual nature of its hotels, its guests and its people whilst maintaining a timeless elegance and intuitive service style that are the hallmarks of its properties.
www.maybourne.com

For further press information and images for reproduction please contact: Deborah Richardson on 07973 601 626 or email deborah@objectives.co.uk