Julia Hicks
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Antique: Ornate, Tradition, Warm, Homely, Familiar, Collectable, Craftmanship, Unique, Age, Condition Attic: Upstairs, No light, Storage, Converted, Cafe: Restaurant, Hot food, Coffee, Tea, Cakes, Sandwiches, Cosy, Homely, Indoors
The Brief & Introduction to ‘The Attic Cafe’ The brief of ‘The Attic Cafe’ was to design a new, modern, but classic identity that represents the cafe but should also have an element of the antique store ‘Home & Colonial’ which is where the cafe is located above. Home & Colonial is a popular antique store within the area of Berkhamsted, but it also sells modern pieces of furniture and storage. Above can be seen the photos of the cafee itself. As you can see the outside of the building uses pastel/ creamy colours and is quirky yet classy at the same time. The cafe itself is very homely, it has alot of light, and it is a traditional cafe. Above i also the initial brainstorming ideas, along with the most common words that came to mind when I asked people about the definition of antique, attic, and cafe. The client wanted an identity that is similar to their current one, but with a more elegant and homely feel.
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Where: Top floor Home & Colonial, 134 High Street, Berkhamsted, Herts HP4 3AT. About: Owner Ali Reid-Davis bought the existing café a year ago. She is also a business partner of the antique centre, which she owns with Lizzi Stanton-Kipping. Chefs Nicola Bramley and Natalie Trabuchi have created a menu of light bites, breakfast plates and hearty dishes, which have a Mediterranean influence. Whats on offer: The Attic Café is a really special place. It is decorated with interesting antiquities, full of country charm. The teas and cakes are served on mismatched antique cups and saucers and brightly coloured tea pots. There are many organic and fairtrade choices on the menu and the food is sourced locally. The meat is supplied by Berkahsmetd's award winning organic butcher, Eastwoods, while the fruit and vegetables come from John Williams, in Potten End. To eat there is a traditional English breakfast, a vegetarian breakfast, eggs Benedict or scrambled egg with either bacon, mushroom or smoked salmon. Tasty deep filled sandwiches, jacket potatoes Welsh rarebit and pastas also feature. The specials menu is where Nicola and Natalie really come into their own. In keeping with the homely feel their comforting soups come in huge bowls, the salads are truly imaginative and there is a wide variety for vegetarians and people with food intolerances. Natalie, who bakes all the cakes, has included a flavoursome dairy free, gluten free carrot and banana cake. Tea drinkers will love the choice of 18 specialty teas, from Earl Grey to mango flower, and will not be able to resist the homemade cakes and ice creams, made on site. For something a little stronger there's a selection of wines and bottled beers or you can indulge in a milkshake made with ice cream. As well as its breakfasts and lunches served during the day, The Attic Café holds intimate Rex dinners once every two months. For £40 a head diners can see a show at The Rex, art deco cinema in Berkhamsted, followed by a candle lit supper at the café.
About the Cafe & its Target Audience Above is some information about the cafe and peoples opinions on it. The target audience that the cafe attracts tends to attract are people from the ages 30 and above. They are usually mums, or they come with their other halfs. This reflects on the price that the food is. It attracts the same people that the local cinema takes in. Both of the places have alot of art deco within the buildings. The food it serves ranges from burgers to sanwiches, to home cooked breakfast, but it is most reknowned for its cakes, tea and coffee. The food is all home made and has an organic feel to it.. It is a very popular place and always has alot of customers especially at the weekends, and bank holidays. When I went to get a feel of the cafe the atmosphere was lively, relaxed and there was a constant flow of customers so it is obviously a popular choice within the town.
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Inside Home & Colonial, and the Local Competition In order to get an overall feel for both the cafe and the actual store itself I looked around Home & Colonial to make sure that I was interlinking the Attic cafes identity to Home & Colonial as well. The thing that stood out to me the most was how most of the items that were sold had patterns on them, and had an art nouveau feel to them. Most of the patterns tended to be floral whether it be a complex floral design, or a simple leaf. There was also a variety of colours mainly being natural earth or pastel colours. There are also alot of other cafes within Berkhamsted so I looked into the three most popular ones that people tend to go to within the same target audience and they were ‘The Bloc’, ‘Costa’, and ‘Bel Caffe’. All of them have a text based identity, so I needed to create and identity that stood out from theirs.
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Current Logotype, 6 Thinking Men & Cafe research Above is the current logotype of the cafe. It is tacky, the colours do not go with the feel of the cafe and the slaunted cafe does not work with the identity. Home & Colonial have an elegant feel to their logo design and the two do not match at all. I used the 6 thiknking men theory to help me understand the most common things that need to be understood. I also looked at current logotypes that are cafes. Most of them ar typographic based and have an elegant feel to theme using either handwritten based type , or simple block text. They do all use the same colour schemes within them which are browns, creams, and oranges. These are all autumn colours which give off a feel of healthly eating as well as an overall organic feel. The client stated that they wanted something similar to their current identity so the elegant writing will need to stay.
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Initial Inspiration I decided to look at brands that had a typagraphic based identity which also looked like an image itself, as well as identitys which use subtle symbols to represent the company when incorporated with the text. These are all logotypes which I thought had an elegant feel to them and they represented the overall feel of the company. They are all simple, clean but also elegapnt at the same time. Another thing I noticed is the limited colour palet that they use. Most of them use organic colours, or use different shades of black, brown, and white. I especially liked the ‘Marsodal’ make as it also had a pattern designed to go alongside the typographic identity which is something I would like to aim for within the project.
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Designs I like & Using Logotypes as Patterns These were brands that used the kind of theme that I was looking for . They are all companies that represent dining or nature by using simple text or illustration. They all have an elegant feel to them and use a very natural colour scheme. The typography that they use also looks handmade, which gives it more of a homely look. I then decided to look at people that use their logo designs as patterns. Seeing as patterns was a major thing within the shop I thought it would be important to look at companies who use patterns as a logo and decoration. I noticed that the main people that used this technique was people from the fashion industry. I decided that it would be good to design a pattern for the attic cafe as well as a logo design that could be used within their menus.
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Elegant Writing I looked at elegant joint up writing and the common patterns with its useage. The Attic Cafes original logo design is seen as elegant, however it is has not done its justice. All these logotypes have used the technique of joint up letters as it makes it look handwritten and therefore more personal. It automaically gives off an elegant brand feel, and most of the type has been experimented with the curves within each letter. This is the kind of font that the client wanted, so to steer away from the tradtional Times New Roman font, I would need to experiment with ways of making the type look elegant and quirky at the same time as this is the main theme within the cafe.
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William Morris & Common Colours I went to the V&A for some inspiration and I came across William Morris. William Morris was a British textile designer in the 18th centuary and was well known for his traditional patterns as I thought that was a major part of Home & Colonial I thought it would be essential to look into someone who experimented with patterns in that time. Within all his patterns florals were most commonly used, and he tended to stick to the same colour schemes. Here I looked into his designs, and picked out the colours that were most commonly used. All the flowers have a curved and elegant look, and the colours used represented different seasons of nature. I thought that the lighter colours could work best within the cafe.
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Art Nouveau Period Art Nouveau was an international movement and style of art, architecture, and applied arts especially the decorative arts which peaked at the turn of the 20th century. It is characterized by organic, especially floral and other plant-inspired motifs, as well as highly-stylized, flowing curvilinear forms. Art Nouveau is an approach to design according to which artists should work on everything from architecture to furniture, making art part of everyday life. Here are some classive examples from the movement that I thought related to the cafe as there is a vast amount of furniture and florals in that style. Again the colours that are used are pastels, and represent nature. I also looked at typography that symbolises the art period as it is flowing and elegant.
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My Illustrations and Relation to Curvy Text I decided to draw my own illustrations based on William Morris’ designs and the Art Nouveau period. I thought that they came out well and once incorporated with the colours that i picked out from the designs of that period they started to look similar to the style that was used. Looking at the curves within the flowers inspired me to look into other brands which have used a flowing style which was then projected within their logo. The colours that are usually used with the fonts thend to be black as the text itself becomes an image.
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Modern Interpretations of Patterns After looking at old patterns, I decided to look at modern interpretation of these patterns. After going to the ‘Decode’ exhibition at the V&A I found different visuals that represent interactive designs. I then looked at modern illustrators who made wallpaper designs as I thought that although it was important to keep tradition, it would be benficial to bring a modern aspect into the cafe. I also looked at illustrations that represent a cafe. again the colours that are mainly used are greens, yellows and creams.
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The Attic Cafe- Didot Italic The Attic Cafe- Monotype Corsiva Regular The Attic Cafe- Cochin Bold Italic The Attic Cafe- Century Schoolbook The Attic Cafe- Calisto MT- Bold Italic The Attic Cafe- Bookman Old style The Attic Cafe- Book Antiqua The Attic Cafe- Baskerville Semi Bold Italic The Attic Cafe- Courier The Attic Cafe- Times The Attic Cafe - Swift The Attic Cafe- Palatino The Attic Cafe- Lucinda Fax The Attic Cafe- Lucina Blackletter The Attic Cafe- Hoefler Text The Attic Cafe- Hoefler Text Italic The Attic Cafe- Gill Sans Book Italic The Attic Cafe- Garamond The Attic Cafe- Edwrdian Script
The Attic Cafe- Book Antiqua The Attic Cafe- Book Antiqua The Attic Cafe- Book Antiqua The Attic Cafe- Book Antiqua The Attic Cafe- Book Antiqua The Attic Cafe- Book Antiqua
The Attic Cafe- Baskerville The Attic Cafe- Baskerville SBold Italic The Attic Cafe- Baskerville Semi Bold Italic The Attic Cafe- Baskerville Semi Bold Italic The Attic Cafe- Baskerville Semi Bold Italic The Attic Cafe- Baskerville Semi Bold Italic
The Attic Cafe- Hoefler Text Itali The Attic Cafe- Hoefler Text Italic The Attic Cafe- Hoefler Text Italic The Attic Cafe- Hoefler Text Italic The Attic Cafe- Hoefler Text Italic The Attic Cafe- Hoefler Text Italic
The Attic Cafe- Book Antiqua
The Attic Cafe- Book Antiqua (Bold Italic) The Attic Cafe- Book Antiqua (Bold Italic) The Attic Cafe- Book Antiqua (Bold Italic) The Attic Cafe- Book Antiqua (Bold Italic) The Attic Cafe- Book Antiqua (Bold Italic)
Choosing the Typeface and Point Size I looked at fonts that represent the 18th century- 19th century, and I asked the client which one they liked the look of the most. Because they wanted a similar feel to their current identity as well as wanting it to interlink with Home & Colonials iddentity. After playing around the client decided that they preferred Book Antiqua Bold Italic, Hoefleet Text Italic and Baskerville, so I was to take that furthur. After looking at the point size as well Book Antiqua Bold Italic seemed to work with a variety of point sizes.
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The Attic Cafe The Attic Cafe The Attic Cafe The Attic Cafe The Attic Cafe The Attic Cafe
Beginning Thoughts I started brain storming with initial ideas, and experiments. I wanted to see how the text worked in large scale, and look at the initial thoughts of the colours that came to mind. I also wanted to see what would look better if the text was filled in, outlines, or overlapping itself to get a different feel to it.I also attempted some initial designs by hand which came out interesting but there were certain elements that I liked and others that didnt work at all.
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The Attic Cafe
Playing Begins Playing around with the positioning of text, lower case, upper case, colours, and experimenting with how letters can be used as patterns. These were my initial experiments, and none of them really worked out. The outlining of the text did not work at all, as the smaller it became the more illegible it was. I did like the layering of one word on top of the other, however the font made it look un balanced. I also attempted to use the idea of playing with letters to make them into a pattern, however it did not work at all. The colours were also not working, and I was not 100% keen on the font that was chosen.
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Hand drawn Type I wanted to look at vernacular hand written fonts to see if that would make a difference to the feel of the fonts. I thought that although they worked well they appeared to be childish, and considering that the target audience is for the ages of 30 + I think that some of the people from an older generation would prefer more of a traditional font, rather than it being hand written. I think that it would not be as easy to read, and because of the font style that the cafe is looking for, it did not fit in as well with the overall image.
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the attic cafe
the ttic
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Initial Experiments Here are some initial ideas that I experimented with. I played around with different positions and different ways of manipulating the ‘a’. I thought that Book Antiqua was the font that was working the most in comparison to the others. Using the ‘A’ as the main aspect of the design didn’t seem to be working very well so I thought that making all the text one size would probably work best. I also realised that the blues and blacks werent working well as they were too harsh. The client did not like the idea of a playing with different positions with the text, so I was to stick to one level.
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the
the
Cut out and Curving Experiments I attempted a cut out approach with the text as I thought it represented handmanship. I also thought it would be nice to have different patterns behind the text, so it would be similar to an ever changing logo design. Once experimented with however, I felt that it didnt work, and the patterns with the outline did not work well with each other. It would also be too expensive to produce the cut out technique. I also attempted different ways of curving the letters to give a more overall elegant feel as well as trying to make the text appear as an image itself. In the end I felt that the text when joint together worked better on its own and didnt need extra fancy lettering.
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Creation of Font and Colour scheme Here is the development of how I created the type. I thought that the font worked best when it was joint up in a caligraphy style. After seeing that the capital ‘A’ wasnt working with the rest of the text, I tried making all the text lower case which worked much better as it made the text flow. I also had to alter the font to make the lettering look better. After talking to the client we also thought it would be more appropriate not having the word ‘cafe’ in it. Taken from the colours of the Art Nouveau period and William Morris, I decided that the only way of seeing if it worked was to try it out with the text. I thought that the darker colours appeared too harsh. The lighter colours didnt show up as well on the paper, however the lighter blues, greens, creams and pinks seemed to work the best as they look organic, subtle, elegant and all contrast nicely with each other.
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Experimentation I wanted to see which layouts worked the best and what was the best positioning of the flowers. I also thought it would be interesting to see if the outlining of the text worked in different colours. The client and I decided that it was best to steer away from the outlining as it wasnt as strong as being filled in. We also thought that the ‘the’ looked awkward on top of the attic so attempted to play around with the positioning of the words again. The flowers appeared to be droopy with no life so I attempted to rotate them up as it made it look more positive. In the end we decided that it will still be best to keep it as minimal as possible with the flowers due to the detail being too fine.
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Development of Logotype I experimented with the colours to see which ones complimented each other the most, and I also thought this was the best way to position the type as it gives the image of layering due to the attic being on the top floor. I thought the colours that worked the best were the olive light brown, alongside with the cream green. I think out of all the colours they relate the most to a cafe, they represent nature and give off a homely organic feel. The colours also work well in black and white. The colours however could be used within patterns which I will experiment with later. The client liked the personal touch of the flowers and agreed with the chosen colours being the final ones.
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Final Development of Logotype I thought that the flower patterned appeared to be too complicated and fiddley and when applied in different sizes it was hard to see, so I wanted to experiment with a way that symbolised a flower but in a more subtle way where the detail would not get lost in. At first I tried using just a typographic approach but the client and I both thought that it lacked personality this way, so we tried to take a section of the plant and use it with the type. I also tried to see if the type looked better with a smaller size ‘the’ but it lacked balance that way. After playing around with different positionings of the leaf and the different colours we decided that the last one would be the best one as it has the right balance, and sophistication that represents the cafe the most.
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Menu Pattern Designs As well as a logodesign, the client and I thought it would be good to also have a pattern of their own that they can use on their business cards as well as their menus. I decided that a good way of doing this would be taking an element from the logotype itself and bringing that forward. I took the ‘a’ out of the attic and experimented with different ways of linking it up. In the end I came up with a pattern that looked elegant, interesting and worked with a variety of colour schemes. I thought it represented a floral pattern but in a more subtle way.
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Application of the Logotype and Conclusion After deciding on a final design I wanted to see if it worked once applied to different mediums. These are the objects that the logotype will probably be applied to. Hand stiched napkins within the cafe would give it a homely feel, whilst the tags would label each of the cakes in a sophisticated way. It was also good to see that the pattern, colour scheme and the text itself all complimented each other well. Overall the final brand reflects the atmosphere within the cafe as well as Home & Colonial as a whole. The colours and the typography used reflects the type of things that Home & Colonial sell but also represent a cafe, and the type of food that it sells. The branding also attracts the target audience that the Cafe wanted.
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Client opinion: I couldn’t be more impressed by the new identity your company has suggested for my business. I was very dissatisfied with the current logo we are using and feel it has definitely become outdated. We decided it was time to re-assess after the influx of new similar business’ began cropping up within the last year and felt our image was losing impact against the more modern/ bright shop signs and logos in the surrounding areas. We thought it was time to build a more individual and noticeable identity to stand out from the crowd. We already have a very loyal customer base, linked in business and theme to the Rex cinema, which tends to be, as stated, the over 30’s who generally have a more higher disposable income and we thought it was important to focus on what would remain attractive to them. We pride ourselves on our home-made style cooking and wish to provide a rustic and welcoming atmosphere, this is protected by the traditional (pleasing our older customers) hand writing style font you provided and almost autumn/ organic feel the colours bear, accentuated by the leaf motif. The pattern is beautiful and reflects the Art Nouveau theme running through many of our products (of which we serve many dishes on) and the repetitive nature of the design, to us, represents reliability, an attractive suggestion to retain repeat custom. If the colours were any brighter I wouldn’t say it represented the way we cook, choosing homely, stable, wholesome foods and perhaps not the more vibrant dishes you would find in an Asian style menu. We think the logo will work well on a lot of our stationary also, being very subtle and unlikely to draw attention away from the products/ dining style we wish to advertise.
Bibliography Websites http://www.vam.ac.uk/ http://www.vam.ac.uk/microsites/decode/ http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/prints_books/features/Wallpaper/William_Morris/index.html http://www.homeandcolonial.co.uk/ http://www.costa.co.uk/ http://www.nga.gov/feature/nouveau/exhibit_intro.shtm http://www.tate.org.uk/ http://www.formfiftyfive.com/ http://visuelle.co.uk/ http://www.bitique.co.uk/ Books Logo Design- Julius Wiedemann Logo- Michael Evamy Letterhead and Logo Design: v. 9 (Letterhead & LOGO Design - Mine 1000 Restaurant, Bar, and Cafe Graphics: Signage to Logos and Everything In-between- Luke Herriott New Restaurant Design- Bethan Ryder 1000 Bags, Tags and Labels: Provocative Packaging for All Products- Cheryl Dangel Cullen Restaurant Graphics (Paperback)- Grant Gibson
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This book is to document my research and development process for the branding of ‘The Attic Cafe’.