Days Inn by Wyndham is an economy hotel chain founded in 1970 by Cecil B. Day, who opened the first location in Tybee Island, Georgia, in June of that year.[1] The brand’s visual identity has centered on a yellow sun symbol for more than five decades, with its most significant redesign arriving in 2007.
Design and History
The original Days Inn logo, created in 1970, remained with the brand for over 30 years. It featured a black rectangle containing the wordmark, paired with a half-circle yellow sun image.[2] The black and yellow color scheme with a featureless sun defined the brand’s look through the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
In February 2007, Days Inn unveiled its first new logo in 37 years at its international conference in Las Vegas, presented to an audience of more than 1,800 owners and managers.[3] The redesign replaced the black and yellow scheme with bright yellows contrasting against a deep blue, and introduced a more detailed sun with varying shades of yellow set against a pattern of blues.[2] The new design also featured a friendly modern typeface.[3]
Days Inn vice president of marketing Chris Trick said the new design sought to convey a warm welcoming and give the brand appeal to a new generation of travelers while retaining the equity of its signature yellow sunburst and original shape.[3] By preserving the shape of the logo, the company kept signage replacement costs at a minimum, since franchisees did not need to replace the physical signage container if it was still in good condition.[3]
In April 2018, Wyndham Hotel Group announced that 12 of its brands, including Days Inn, would add the “by Wyndham” suffix to their names.[4] The updated brand names and logos began appearing across Wyndham’s digital placements on April 16 of that year, with hotel owners in North America able to immediately begin ordering new signs.[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The 2007 redesign was tied to the brand’s service pledge, “A Promise as Sure as the Sun,” which Days Inn president Joseph Kane Jr. described as the brand’s service and quality pledge to guests.[3] The logo’s debut symbolized the brand’s three-year renaissance, which included new standards, the DayBreak breakfast program, and upgraded amenities.[3]
The trademark filing for the 2007-era mark describes the logo as consisting of the words “DAYS INN” in white against a blue background, beneath a yellow sunburst against a blue background, with white, yellow, and blue claimed as features of the mark.[6]
Typography and Design
The 2007 redesign introduced a friendly modern typeface to replace the earlier wordmark.[3] The new design retained the unique and familiar shape of the original logo while freshening the overall look.[3] The specific typeface used in the 2007 redesign has not been publicly documented in available sources.
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