Recognition
Independently assessed, recorded and reviewed
Earned, not bought
Recognition
When exceptional can be felt.
The most compelling luxury businesses create something that can be difficult to capture in a photograph, specification or list of amenities.
You feel it.
The Exquisite Standard Recognition exists to identify and independently recognise the conditions behind that experience.
Seek Recognition →Why Recognition
Make what you create visible.
Much of what makes an exceptional business exceptional is hidden beneath the surface.
The care. The judgement. The quality of relationships. The materials chosen. The decisions not to compromise. The way people are treated. The hundreds of conditions that shape how an experience ultimately feels.
Recognition makes that work legible.
It provides independent assessment against The Exquisite Standard and a credible way to communicate that distinction to the people who experience, choose and recommend your business.
The value of Recognition
A distinction with substance.
- 01
Independent validation
Your experience has been assessed against an independent benchmark, rather than simply described by your own marketing.
- 02
A distinction you can communicate
Recognised organisations can carry The Exquisite Standard Recognition mark, subject to its terms of use.
- 03
A verifiable record
Recognition carries an award date, current standing and review cycle, creating a distinction that customers, partners and the industry can verify.
- 04
Recognised status in the Guide
Recognised organisations are visibly distinguished from editorially Featured organisations within The Exquisite Guide.
- 05
A different language for value
Recognition provides a way to communicate qualities conventional measures of luxury can struggle to capture: not simply what has been provided, but what the whole experience makes possible.
Independence
Recognition is earned.
It cannot be bought.
Recognition cannot be purchased or guaranteed.
Assessments are currently undertaken by Sarah Miller, founder and creator of The Exquisite Standard methodology.
Independence lies in the determination: organisations pay to undergo assessment, not to receive Recognition. Recognition is awarded only where The Exquisite Standard is met.
What independence means
Recognition cannot be bought or guaranteed. Organisations may commission an assessment, but payment is for the assessment process, not for the outcome. Recognition is awarded only where the evidence supports a finding that The Exquisite Standard has been met. Where it has not, Recognition is not awarded.
The assessment
Conditions before claims.
The Exquisite Standard looks beneath visible outcomes to consider the conditions from which they emerge.
Assessment considers the human, environmental and structural conditions surrounding an experience, and the coherence between them.
Material and operational choices are considered not only for the experience they create, but for their provenance, longevity, resource use and wider consequence.
The purpose is not to reward isolated features. It is to understand how the whole experience works together.
- Human
- The quality of the human and relational experience.
- Environmental
- The physical and sensory conditions surrounding it, and the environmental consequence of the choices that create them.
- Structural
- The systems and decisions beneath what is experienced.
Recognition is based on the conditions demonstrated through assessment, not on price, reputation or marketing claims.
How Recognition works
From assessment to Recognition.
01 / Assessment
The organisation or experience is examined against The Exquisite Standard.
02 / Finding
The evidence is considered and a finding is made against the benchmark.
03 / Recognition
Where The Exquisite Standard is met, Recognition is awarded.
04 / Record
Recognition is documented with an award date, standing and next review.
05 / Review
Recognition is awarded for 12 months and reviewed annually, so that it represents a current finding rather than a permanent award.
The distinction
Editorially selected.
Independently assessed.
Featured
Editorially selected for The Exquisite Guide.
Featured entries appear because they demonstrate qualities relevant to the editorial lens of The Exquisite Standard. Inclusion is editorial and does not mean the organisation has been formally assessed.
Recognised
Independently assessed against The Exquisite Standard.
Recognised status means an assessment has been completed and Recognition awarded.
Featured is an editorial distinction. Recognition is an assessment finding.
Displaying the Mark
The flower is the Recognition Mark.
Recognised organisations display the Recognition Signature: the seven-petal flower locked to one standard line, Recognised by The Exquisite Standard. The Signature is supplied as finished artwork, with its typography, proportions and spacing fixed, and is the recommended treatment for third-party display.
The flower-only Recognition Mark remains available where the Signature will not sit comfortably. Both are displayed only while Recognition is current, and both always link to the organisation's public Recognition Record. All artwork is supplied with a transparent background; the grounds shown below are previews only.
The Recognition Signature — recommended
On cream, white or other light grounds. The preferred form.
On royal blue, charcoal or other dark grounds.
Only where colour reproduction is not possible.
The Recognition Mark — secondary
- Minimum size
- Never smaller than 16px on screen, so all seven petals remain legible.
- Clear space
- Keep clear space around the Mark equal to the width of one petal on all sides.
- Always linked
- Digital display of the Mark or Signature links to the organisation's Recognition Record on this site, so the finding behind it can be verified.
- Nothing added
- The Mark must not be altered or enclosed within a badge, seal, crest, laurel or border. Use only the supplied Recognition Mark and Recognition Signature artwork.
“Recognition Mark assets are supplied directly to organisations when Recognition is awarded.”
Recognised
Recognition, made visible.
Seek Recognition
Could your organisation be recognised?
Recognition is for destinations, brands and experiences seeking independent assessment against The Exquisite Standard.
If you believe The Exquisite Standard reflects the experience your organisation provides, begin with an introduction.
Continue