Every project begins with listening. We understand a client’s story is the first step to crafting something meaningful. We believe strategy design isn’t just a process; it’s a collaboration grounded in trust and intuition, and the most compelling work emerges when personal identity meets creative clarity. Because no two clients are the same, neither is the solution. Regardless of scale, our mission is to transform visions into strategies that resonate, endure, and feel unmistakably personal.
Selected hospitality, luxury, and lifestyle brand identity projects.
Nine integrated brand strategy and design disciplines, delivered in-house.
From first positioning conversation to final signage installation.
As a boutique studio, we bring the personalized attention and creative agility that your brand deserves. Our integrated approach seamlessly blends compelling copywriting and storytelling with striking graphic design, custom art curation, and professional photography and videography to create cohesive brand experiences that captivate and convert.
Whether you are launching something new or evolving an established presence, ESQUE delivers the strategic insights and artistic excellence that transforms good brands into fresh, unforgettable ones.
As a brand strategist, designer, and storyteller, IV has more than 25 years of experience helping organizations define, articulate, and elevate their brands.
As Co-Creator of McLemore Resort, a mountaintop golf destination and luxury hospitality brand in the Southeast, he played a central role in shaping the resort’s identity, guiding its marketing strategy, and supporting more than $250 million in capital raised toward a project valued at over $1 billion.
As Executive Vice President of Brand Development at Scenic Land Company, IV led brand strategy, marketing, and creative initiatives for developments including McLemore, Cloudland, and Brow Wood. His work has been instrumental in positioning these destinations as leading lifestyle and hospitality brands.
Throughout his career, IV has partnered with national and global clients such as Hewlett-Packard, Procter & Gamble, Kellogg’s, Sonic Drive-In, ServiceMaster, Baptist Health, March of Dimes, and The Nature Conservancy.
His work has earned recognition from the Account Planning Group and the Miami Ad School. ESQUE partners with top national talent, from videographers and photographers to fabricators and specialists to bring brand visions to life.
Over the years, I’ve collaborated with marketing and branding professionals across the country and around the world, IV Whitman stands among the very best.
Golf Course Architect
Art, photography, and immersive environments curated for hospitality spaces.
Art, photography, libraries, and immersive environments — curated to reinforce brand narrative.
We have worked with numerous acclaimed artists, photographers, and songwriters to mirror the emotional and aesthetic goals of McLemore, Cloudland, Hilton Worldwide, FlickMars, and other national clients.
Our most recent project, a 240,000-square-foot hotel and conference center, required a portfolio of over 275 color and black-and-white photographs to populate guest rooms and public spaces. To showcase the area’s natural beauty, we commissioned former National Geographic Senior Photo Editor Kim Hubbard to create portraits of the flora, fauna, and landscapes around the hotel.
Curation has also included the creation of a 700-plus volume library located in the Cloudland hotel, an annual singer-songwriter series for the McLemore Resort, which has attracted dozens of Grammy-winning artists, and even a premium cigar humidor for McLemore’s Clubhouse.
Expert thinking on brand strategy, identity design, and creative leadership.
Every partnership starts with a conversation. No pitch — just listening.