Café Presse Rebrand
A new identity for a beloved neighborhood restaurant.
Background: Café Presse is a beloved neighborhood restaurant serving unfussy, affordable French fare. It’s a space that encourages diners to stop by or stay awhile, whether it be popping in for a quick coffee and pastry to go or dining in and catching up with a friend over pommes frites dipped in mayonnaise. Presse continues to be a special place on the Hill, bringing the experience of casual French dining to Seattle.
Problem: Dining has changed. People have shifted from connecting to one another to connecting online. Eating on the run and grabbing a quick bite have become the new norm, presenting an opportunity to bring back the joy of eating in the moment.
Objective: A new brand identity for existing and new customers that allowed them to take in the moment, pausing on their everyday life to enjoy simple pleasures. We noticed the norm of on the go eating and multi-tasking lunch meetings. Café Presse is not only a quaint neighborhood restaurant, but also a space to take time out and enjoy a casual meal with a friend or a good book. We wanted our rebrand to be a feeling of experiencing casual French dining in Paris cafés that felt welcoming and delicious.
Project Details
Timeline: 11 weeks
Roles: Research, Branding, Illustration, Layout, Visual Design, Animation
Skills: Illustrator, Photoshop, Procreate, InDesign, After Effects
Collaborator: Jenny Flick
PROCESS & RESEARCH
A special place on the Hill
Café Presse is a Capitol Hill neighborhood staple. To better understand their current brand we researched the history of the company, the customers, and the neighborhood. We sought out reasons why they’ve been successful, what makes them special, and how they continue to have loyal customers while continuing to gain new customers as well.
By visiting the restaurant, we were able to get a sense of their brand firsthand, gaining the insight of a diner. Small tables close to one another allowed for intimate conversations. The menu favorites appeared at most tables: pommé frites, croque madames, chicken liver pate, and of course, baguette and butter. The food is appealing, yet affordable. Much like the food, the atmosphere of Presse is comforting and reminiscent of good times had before.
Brand Development
As a team, our research began by developing an understanding of our client’s brand by collecting images that allude to the restaurant industry. All images were collected from categories, such as connections, people, iconography, architecture, abstract, etc. Laying out all the images side by side, we began the process of keeping images that represented Presse from least to most as a way to develop our brand character.
Through a process of elimination, we decided to highlight the feeling of simplicity and modest nature of Café Presse, familiar to regular diners and inviting to new ones.
CONCEPT
Tonal Territories
Café Presse is what the owners sought to capture from their experience in France and bring alive in their restaurant: modest, inviting, and authentic food. We wanted to make sure our rebrand appealed to new customers while remaining familiar to their regular ones.
Brand Concept
We built our concept with the idea of slowing down, even for just a moment, and to nourish yourself by being present. While dining at Presse, we surprisingly found that people were more connected with one another rather than their phones.
After researching, dining, and brainstorming we developed our concept: rediscover the ritual of eating. Our purpose was to invoke a feeling of familiarity, where time doesn’t exist, and to dine was to savor the moment.
DESIGN SYSTEM
Color
Inspired by the streets of Paris, dining outside under bright colored awnings along cobblestone streets, seated in patterned red chairs around small cream colored top tables with cups filled with hot coffee. Presse is a warm and inviting place to be so we chose colors that evoked feelings of comfort and familiarity.
Type
Our headline is reflective of where tradition is met with a modern twist. Mrs Eaves is refined, humble and shows graceful subtle elegance. The body typeface was chosen to reflect the importance and timelessness of print and the various selections available for purchase at Presse to read there or to take home with you.
Logo
Keeping with the modest nature of Café Presse we felt the logo should be reflective of one that is playful, yet straightforward and slightly vintage in familiarity. We went with a serif typeface that had a sense of timelessness and authenticity that felt welcoming.
Illustrations
Created from simple, organic line drawings reflective and inspired by Presse's personality, we wanted the brand to feel thoughtful, authentic, and genuine.
BRAND APPLICATION
Building Collateral
Rediscover the ritual of eating is our North star. To be present and savor the moment is what dining at Presse is all about. We took this opportunity to take details, big or small, and showcase what savoring the moment truly means. We wanted our patrons to also be able to take a keepsake home to remember their time in the space and to be able to take a little bit of Presse with them wherever they may go.
Exterior Signage
For customers old and new, dining at Café Presse is always memorable. As a team we wanted Presse to be easily recognizable, as well as one that stood out to any passerby. A drop pin almost in design, our new signage represented an inviting familiarity that’s homey and quaint. Keeping in line with the hand touched feel using the irregularity of line quality of the circle paired with the modern, yet simultaneously vintage type, against the statement red, the new signage embodies Presse as a whole. Welcome in.
Website
A website to a new customer is similar to a first impression. We used this opportunity to highlight what makes Presse special and why it continues to be a neighborhood staple. By utilizing assets such as hand drawn line illustrations and photography that felt intimate, we were able to tell the story of Presse: a quaint neighborhood restaurant that serves familiar French fare, stop by or stay awhile.
