Madreperla Bistrot is an elegant little restaurant in Trieste, Italy, specialised in seafood. The bistrot is owned and run by Dunya and Ned and it combines their respective love for décor and seafood. The décor and ambience are refined, elegant and bring together antique, Deco patterns, Japanese traditional illustrations and lots of references to the sea and seashells, something that brings together the two owners.
THE LOGO
The logo had to convey the many facets of the bistrot.
Firstly, its unique mix of regional and Asian cuisine.
Secondly, its refined and intimate mood. But mostly, the themes of seafood, shells and pearls.
All of this while trying to find a balance between old-fashioned and modern.
The mark is a simple shell, but it contains a reference to a pearl and a subtle rising sun, a reference itself to both the Far East and Art Deco.
The wordmark features La Luxes Serif, modified to blend with the shell element, give it a unique spin and integrate the pearl detail in the P.
The logo also has a two-line version as well, utilised in smaller dimensions like social media or websites.
Here is one of the many discarded drafts I designed in the process of finding a balance between modern and classic, fun but elegant.
THE BRAND
Madreperla means “mother of pearl” in Italian and the pearl motive is one of the main influences on the brand at large. A hard balancing act here was conveying the zen simplicity of the restaurant without going too bland. One of the tools I used to achieve this was textures, a big love of mine, that elevate the design in the subtlest of ways.
For the colours, I went for a range of shades of pink, burnt coral being the main one. Black, white and a range of greys are used in tandem with the pinks and ice blue can be used to cleanse the palate. Just like textures, gradients are used to add depth without overcomplicating. In addition to grainy textures, a pearlescent effect helps tie the brand to the name and delicate nature of the restaurant.
Like the logo, the main brand font is La Luxes Serif, which is reserved for titles. Work Sans (light italic) is used for the copy and Circular (bold) for accents.
Another element of the brand is the use of lines, which are used to frame and separate sections, while giving the design a nouveau-deco look and referencing the logo.
Keeping with the Deco and Japanese references, another important part of the brand are patterns. They are used sparingly, but add richness to the pretty minimal brand. The shell lends itself beautifully to seamless patterns.
THE SOCIALS
Social media are the main channels where the brand gets used, sometimes on a daily basis. Together with the copy, the visual language is also adapted to the media.
Here you can see how the brand can be reworked within some specific constraints. For specific events or campaigns the colours can vary greatly, as long as the texture, the shell and the “pearliness” comes through.
Below, you can see a couple of examples of templates for Instagram stories, to be used when creating stories directly in-app.
THE PRINTED MATERIAL
Another sizable part of my work for Madreperla is the printed material: placemats, business cards, menus, flyers and much more. The material is pretty straightforward, most times, but needs specific treatment in some occasion.
Something I haven’t mentioned because specific to printed material is the use of pearlescent paper when possible and within budget. A detail that ties back to the brand at large and that makes all the difference.
THE PHOTOGRAPHY
A big part of the Madreperla brand is the photography style: warm colours, with atmospheric shots of the dishes, details of the décor and interiors. The pictures can be blurry and dark, making the place feel intimate and magical.These photos are used mainly on social media and the website, but occasionally on promotional material.
THE WEBSITE
Lastly, I created the website for the bistrot. Minimal, clear and elegant were some of the properties we wanted the website to have and I can say I am really happy with the results.
