Uncle Sam the oldest pub in Amman, is a family led business established by my grandfather in 1975. Although the name was drawn from an American pub and diner, it was also associated with my grandfather whose name is Sami.
Amman in the past 30 years developed vastly in terms of infrastructure. The pub is located in the oldest part of the city which has undergone many changes to its layout. With all this development going on, the pub was forced to relocate on the main street.
When my family approached me to design the new identity, they wanted to be spotted from the main street as the location of the pub now is tricky with all the fast moving cars.
My idea was to use Ruqaa calligraphy as the main script for the logo. That way, it maintains the vintage feeling of the place, and captures the true essence of signage that was popular in Amman in 70’s. I matched the calligraphy with Nassim Arabic as its texture is very alive and based on calligraphic heritage. The Latin was matched with ITC Franklin Gothic STD to maintain the original “American” feeling my grandfather was trying to capture.
The project is still slowly developing in order to encompass all aspects of the pub.
Credits:
Calligraphy: Riad Tabbal
Photography: Hussam Da'na
