Sometimes, I just find a client that really needs some design help with their business. This was the case when I had (fantastic) lunch at the local deli-café in Machynlleth.
Blasau’s Italian owner makes an incredible range of tasty artisan breads, sandwiches, and freshly prepared lunches using quality local ingredients – and it really shows in the flavour. The deli is based in a quirky and charming 16th century listed building too. However, the menus printed on white A4 paper in poly-pockets, looked like something you’d find in a truck-stop greasy spoon. Messy, ugly and difficult to see what was on offer, they really let the place down.
The new menu design is printed on single A3 sheet of thick, tactile and suitably natural brown kraft paper. The clear and bold typography makes it easy to see all the food dishes on one side, with drinks and cakes on the reverse. It’s clearly laid out and elegantly easy-to-read, featuring bold headings and traditional feeling serif typefaces that work together perfectly.
To finish off the improved new menu, a handmade display box was made to house them. The raw wood grain of the ply front face was laser engraved in the same font, for a stylish presentation piece that compliments the timber-beamed interior of the café.
The stylish script for the Blasau name provides a distinctive style for the masthead, and a great basis for a defining logo for the café. The listed building is currently known as Royal House, which must stay, so any applied ‘branding’ must work comfortably with this – watch this space…
