Permanent Collection

Flexible & Friendly: Niceshit Illustrates Travel for Trivago

Posted on Monday, April 20, 2026

Hot on the heels of their ambitious studio rebrand, the design and motion crew at Niceshit move onto building out a flexible and friendly character-based illustration system for hotel booking platform Trivago.

Carmen Angelillo, Guido Lambertini, and Rodier Kidmann, CDs at Niceshit: “The challenge was to create a modular, scalable, and flexible illustration style that could be customized for different needs at different moments.

“We developed a style that balances a digital and physical feeling, combining hand-drawn stroke textures with slightly geometric forms. Every illustration tells a little story and when mixed together, they create new adventures — always keeping that vacation-mode vibe.

“The goal was to build on Trivago’s global brand strength while moving it towards a more distinctive and contemporary visual language.”

“This flexibility allows Trivago to generate new assets for any communication need, from digital campaigns to large-scale urban placements and office graphics.

“The goal was to build on Trivago’s global brand strength while moving it towards a more distinctive and contemporary visual language. This wasn’t just an aesthetic update, but a way to help the brand stand out in a competitive travel market, staying true to its mantra: Search, Compare & Save.

“The result is a flexible, modular, ready-to-use illustration system that allows the brand to tell consistent and engaging stories to travelers worldwide.”

Images

Line drawing beach scene in the style of the Niceshit Illustration System: people relaxing under umbrellas, swimming, playing in the sand by a bar hut. Includes sun lounger, picnic basket, sandcastle, and sunny sky—perfect for Trivago dreams. Frame from Stash Magazine article.

A group of people enjoy a sunny day at a pool in this vibrant Niceshit Illustration System scene. One lounges under an umbrella, another stands in the water, while two kids float on an inflatable swan near palm trees and a beach ball. Frame from Stash Magazine article.

A person relaxes on a lounge chair under a straw beach umbrella beside two palm trees in this vibrant Niceshit illustration system. A basket, hat, sunglasses, soccer ball, and flip-flops rest on the sand beneath a single cloud. Frame from Stash Magazine article.

A hotel receptionist checks in a guest pulling a suitcase while a bellhop with a luggage cart waits nearby. A plant sits on the left and an elevator is in the background, all rendered in Niceshit's distinctive illustration system. Frame from Stash Magazine article.

A diverse group of illustrated people, created with the Illustration System for Trivago, including travelers, beachgoers, and workers in uniforms, gathers in front of a trivago sign—some with luggage, some lounging or interacting. Frame from Stash Magazine article.

Credits

Client: Trivago

Agency: Further (Ex Design Studio)

Production: Niceshit
CD: Carmen Angelillo, Guido Lambertini, Rodier Kidmann
EP: Agusta Timotea
Art Director/Illustrator: Rodier Kidmann
2D Promo Animation: Jaume Mestre

Stephen Price

Stephen is the co-founder/CD of Stash Media Inc. and the executive editor of Stash Magazine and the Stash Permanent Collection.
Follow on LinkedIn, X, and Instagram

Category: Animation, Character Animation, Featured, Illustration · Tags: Carmen Angelillo, Guido Lambertini, Niceshit, Rodier Kidmann, Trivago