Ralph
Sagrott
A London-based designer
shaping ideas through thoughtful, interdisciplinary design.
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Casa Quetzal
Casa Quetzal is a speculative cultural centre that brings contemporary Guatemala into the heart of London. Rooted in storytelling, sensory design, and cultural research, the project invites visitors to experience Guatemala as something to be felt, through textures, traditions, and everyday life. More than an exhibition, it’s a living brand that challenges reductive narratives and reimagines how design can express cultural pride.
Experience
A Story Told Floor by Floor
Casa Quetzal is a 4-floor spatial experience designed as a vertical journey through contemporary Guatemalan culture. Each floor introduces distinct environments, from vibrant markets and botanical gardens to workshops, story rooms, and a restaurant, each space designed to guide visitors through a carefully sequenced cultural and sensory experience.
Identity
A Modular LogoThe logotype is confident, minimal, and rooted in place.
Subtle details, like the peaks of the “A” echo Guatemala’s volcanic landscape, grounding the wordmark in geography and memory.
Its simplicity lets the textures and stories of Casa Quetzal take center stage.
A Rooted
Color PaletteA color palette that draws directly from Guatemala’s textures, landscapes, and rituals. These are not abstract choices, they are echoes of earth, craft, and memory.
Designed to Hold,
Not Steal AttentionThe brand identity was designed to feel rooted, respectful, and quietly confident, drawing from real elements of Guatemalan culture without overshadowing them. By keeping the visual language minimal and elegant, the branding serves as a frame, allowing the richness of the culture itself to take center stage.
Activation
Exhibition Pop-up
For my final major project at UAL Chelsea College of Arts, I transformed my exhibition space into a small window into Guatemala, its culture, textures, and everyday beauty. The exhibition featured a curated display of artisan crafts sourced from Guatemala, with the Casa Quetzal brand designed to act as a respectful frame, spotlighting the richness of the objects rather than overshadowing them. Visitors were invited to take a postcard and a handcrafted worry doll, small tokens to carry a piece of the project with them. 3D prints of the Casa Quetzal floorplan were also installed, offering a glimpse into the speculative space and its layered, sensory experience.
At the center of my exhibition was the Casa Quetzal Brand Book. Designed to hold the full vision of the project, it brings together the identity, values, audience insights, and spatial concept behind the experience. More than a set of guidelines, it’s a cultural blueprint, a tool for storytelling, representation, and design with purpose.
Explore the full brand book