logo + branding
Frenchette
Branding for Frenchette, a French bistro in New York.
2017
Studio: Mucca Design
Creative Director: Matteo Bologna
With designer: Sean O’Connor
While I was living in London, I took any opportunity I could to travel to France and marvel at the cities and towns, the gorgeous typography on storefronts and, of course, the food! Later, when I was at Mucca and the chance to work on the design for a French bistro came along, I jumped at it with all my might.
Frenchette is a new restaurant in Manhattan which, according to the Village Voice, sits at the nexus of being ultra-luxe, ambitious and a safe bet. The chefs and owners, Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson, wanted it to be urban, sophisticated but welcoming, with exciting, spontaneous but perfect food, inspired by Paris’ neo-bistro movement. It’s one of those tricky briefs that have to combine contradicting concepts: traditional and modern, high-end but unpretentious. The name comes from a David Johansen song, which means it is also both Paris and New York.
As I worked on the design and mood board, I started thinking of the restaurant as a cool French chick from the 60s or 70s living in modern-day New York, speaking with a heavy accent and smoking cigarettes, looking effortlessly chic in flat shoes and a leather jacket. I designed the custom-lettered logo on a fast, casual script that’s also quite controlled, and the typography on the menu follows the inclined angle of the logo.
This was designed under the creative direction of Matteo Bologna, and the project was then developed further by Sean O’Connor.
I’ve always wanted to do the branding for a restaurant, and seeing a logo I designed on a real restaurant (and in New York! I still can’t believe it!) is a fantastic feeling. The food there is absolutely fantastic too. I look forward to doing more projects like this in the future.
