Il Buon is a new bistrot, grill restaurant, wine bar specialized in local cuisine with an international touch, using exclusively valuable Italian ingredients cooked with love.
We were asked to focus the identity on the Italian tradition, with a modern breath.
The brand had to recall the good old times, but updated to the present with a twist of cultural contamination.
The easy and friendly mood and the cozy atmosphere had to be paramount throughout the whole communication.
We were asked to take care of the naming and create a strong, recognizable dynamic identity, able to be declined in many variations.
The identity is based on an impacting typographic logo. We took inspiration from old Italian street signs, aiming to characterize the whole identity with a taste of traditional (Italian) style.
The logotype (the fixed element), paired with verbal and visual components (the dynamic element) highlights products and concepts, creating a complete and strong branding system.
There is a strong interaction between the visual and verbal identity, achieved through the combination of the logotype with the products names, food illustrations, and classical Italian common sayings. This combination translates visually the two souls behind the idea: the logo with his vintage character represents tradition, while the copy, manual, instinctive and mutable reflects both the intention to revise and experiment and the artisanal cuisine.
For the naming, of course we chose Italian language. Il Buon (the good in English) evokes goodness in food, in intention and confidence.
The logo includes three (decorative) variations.
For the copy, we created a hand-drawn, intentionally unrefined typeface. The letters were then scanned and digitized. With the same manual style we designed a set of illustrations of foods and kitchen tools.
Two different patterns, made by words and illustrations, complete the identity, adding a playful touch.
The color palette is inspired by the Italian flag.
Playing with the identity elements is possible to create posters, postcards and an almost infinite series of brand collateral.
The result is a bold, dynamic, but always recognizable identity.
Project page and Italian description here
Logotype construction
Samples of typical italian signs from "Grafica della Strada: The Sign of Italy" by Louise Fili published by Princeton Architectural Press.
Combined use of logotype copy and illustrations
Illustrations pattern
Type pattern
