Responses by Fred North, creative director, Koto.
Background: For Germany-based Italian food retailer Gustini, this rebrand aimed to breathe new life into its identity, reflecting the vibrant essence of Italy’s culinary heritage and expanding its reach. The target audience included both loyal, long-standing customers and a younger demographic in Germany. The goal was to continue serving existing customers while attracting fresh faces, offering a taste of “La Dolce Vita” through the best authentic Italian products.
Design core: Rooted in the Mediterranean, Gustini’s new brand radiates La Dolce Vita, encapsulating the excellence of Italian products and the lifestyle they represent. Guided by the core idea of the good life, our creative expression captures the essence of intense flavors, sun-soaked experiences, the stories of producers, unwavering dedication to quality and the joy of shared culinary adventures.
Challenges: Balancing Gustini’s established identity with a modern twist and crafting an authentic, distinctive brand in the dynamic culinary landscape. We aimed to preserve the retailer’s authenticity while ensuring adaptability to changing consumer preferences and expanding the brand’s appeal. Referencing the rich landscape of Italian food was key, while making sure we did it in an ownable manner.
Favorite details: First, the logo. It’s a lowercase, italic, high-contrast, sans-serif wordmark that strikes a unique balance, exuding a vintage flavor while feeling unexpectedly fresh. The slanted baseline adds playful optimism, and the bold, sharp letterforms with a large x-height, paired with a robust underline, convey a utilitarian confidence. It captures the essence of the classic Italian food vernacular and positions Gustini among revered, idiosyncratic Italian classics like Olivetti and Bialetti.
Second, the visual language revolving around patterns. This expansive set of hand crafted graphics detail the production processes of each of the eleven product verticals. They burst with character and hark back to classic Italian food packaging graphics. They break down into our icon language, which is employed on the website to great effect.
Visual influences: Our solution drew inspiration from classic Italian references, capturing the essence of the country’s culinary history. Influences include bold and ornate lettering seen on traditional Italian packaging and graphics printed on fruit and veg wrappers. The typeface Sunset Gothic and a color palette reflecting the terrain that gave us the produce creates a modern, refreshing twist.
Specific project demands: The client instantly gave us a broad remit to explore and push the brand as we saw fit, based on the strategy that we developed together. They were a dream to work with—super engaged, ultrapassionate and really trusting. The whole experience was a joy and resulted in a brand that brims with the same positivity as the client and the subject matter.
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