The traditional ristorante and trattorie in Italy are often found off the well-worn tourist tracks, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and in modest surroundings. Once inside, you can expect a warm welcome from the owners, homemade cuisine and a master class in la dolce vita.
The same could be said of La Passione – an Italian restaurant in Bristol. Walk past and you may even miss it; after all, who would think of looking to Kingswood high street for authentic Italian cuisine? It’s true though. It’s right there – a little piece of Italy waiting to be discovered.
La Passione has been welcoming guests old and new for over 15 years now. With everyone’s favourite Italian dishes served in a family-friendly, homely atmosphere, their menus and specials board are always carefully selected based on what’s fresh and what is favoured – from pasta, pizza and risotto to fish, chicken and steak.
I (wine) bottled all these delicious sights, sounds and smells when creating La Passione’s brand identity with my friends at Yipikaye Design Studio.
Concept
We began with the logo, typography and overall tone-of-voice. The aim was to create an authentic, personable and family-friendly style creative direction that enhanced the very ethos of La Passione.
Creation
Once the ‘modern spaghetti’ concept was signed-off, we rolled-out the creative across the lunch, dinner and drinks menus, as well as the main website.
To make the media as authentic as possible, I intended for there to be a bilingual mix of English and Italian words and phrases (for which I was very grateful to my cousin for checking my Italian – grazie, Sonia!). For example, the restaurant’s lock-up ristorante Italiano is, indeed, in Italian, but is easily understood by non-Italian speakers; also, all the dishes were given an Italian title, but with a succinct descriptor underneath in English to blend the languages effectively.
The restaurant’s tagline – everyone’s favourite Italian dishes – was designed to embrace the inclusive, welcoming ambience of La Passione and popular appeal of Italian cuisine.
My main memory of this brand identity is my tummy rumbling continuously at the thought of all the delicious dishes I was writing about! Thankfully, the team were rewarded with ample pizza and pasta to celebrate completing the project.
Discover more about the design process here, or tempt your taste buds and plan your visit to La Passione.
Images courtesy of Yipikaye Design Studio.
