We were approached to create the branding design for a café that was under construction at the time and was located in the Greek neighbourhood in Toronto. Our client told us that his café was inspired by the famous Antico Caffe Greco in Rome, a café that was established in 1760 by a Greek gentleman that is still in existence today. Our task was to create a design that was in keeping with the historical and cultural aspects that inspired the creation of the café and at the same time create a unique identity. We offered our client a number of alternative design concepts and the one he originally choose was a Greek statue holding a cup of coffee.
The sculpture suggested a female form but we purposely designed it androgynous. The client seeing the statue was struck by the thought that it would be nice to have the design reflect his own Spartan ancestry and asked us to modify the statue into a Spartan warrior with a helmet and shield and the new brand was born.
The principal colours in the logo are dark brown, blue and grey. We used classic serif fonts in keeping with the historic theme of the café. The client was pleased that we had created a brand that reflected a personal connection and was in keeping with the cafe theme. Later we designed window graphics, signage and digital menus.
