1: Brief
2: Key Deliverables
3: Scope
4: Brand Identity
6: Signage & Promotion
7: Closing Thoughts
Brief
Milano is a charming coffee shop located in Viana do Castelo, Portugal, renowned for its delightful cakes and coffee. With a focus on providing a unique and memorable experience, Milano aims to cater to both locals and tourists in Viana do Castelo. The customer’s objective is to establish a local presence by utilizing a food bike that will traverse the city, offering cakes and coffee. This concept forms the core of the entire coffee shop experience.
Key Deliverables
The client approached us at the initial stage of their concept development, providing us with the opportunity to create a brand identity and design concepts from the ground up. Key deliverables were:
Scope
The scope of the project encompasses the creation of a comprehensive brand identity for Milano Café, including logo design, color palette definition, typography selection, and visual element development. Additionally, the project includes the digital aspect, focusing on designing a user-friendly website, establishing engaging social media profiles, developing digital marketing materials, and ensuring a cohesive digital brand presence. Signage and promotion are also key components of the scope, involving the design of eye-catching signage for the café’s exterior and interior, creation of promotional materials, and development of a signage strategy.
Success Criteria:
Brand Consistency
All design elements should be consistent across all platforms, reinforcing the café’s brand image and values. The brand identity should be memorable and resonate with customers, contributing to brand loyalty and recognition.
Customer Experience
Design elements should enhance the overall customer experience, encouraging repeat visits and positive word-of-mouth recommendations. Eye-catching signage and effective promotion should attract more customers to the café, leading to increased foot traffic and revenue. The digital presence, including the website and social media profiles, should effectively engage customers and drive traffic to the shop.
Brand Identity
The Milano Cafe logo is designed in a flat style, featuring handwritten text as the main typography. The choice of a handwritten font adds a personal and welcoming touch, reflecting the cafe’s warm and inviting atmosphere. The logo’s brown background evokes a sense of comfort and nostalgia, reminiscent of the cozy ambiance found inside the cafe. The main text, in white, provides a strong contrast against the brown background, ensuring readability and making the logo visually appealing.
The tagline is presented in a yellowish tone, adding a pop of color and drawing attention to the cafe’s focus on cakes and coffee. The inclusion of a bicycle in the logo symbolizes the cafe’s unique selling point of using a food bike to sell cakes, adding a playful element to the design. The reference to the city, with the text “Viana do Castelo” at the top, establishes a local connection and reinforces the cafe’s identity as a part of the community. Overall, the logo’s design elements are carefully chosen to convey a sense of warmth, nostalgia, and local charm, aligning with Milano Cafe’s brand values and positioning.
Digital
The digital strategy focuses on creating a seamless and enjoyable experience for customers, whether they are visiting the cafe in person or interacting with it online.
In addition to the website, a self-service coffee kiosk was created, accessible both at the cafe and via mobile devices, allowing customers to easily purchase their favorite drinks.
The cafe’s social media profiles feature engaging content and a fun, lighthearted communication style that resonates with its target audience.
Signage & Promotion
For signage and promotion, Milano Cafe has designed eye-catching signage for both the exterior and interior of the cafe, attracting passersby and creating a welcoming atmosphere. The signage incorporates the cafe’s logo and branding elements, reinforcing its identity and creating a cohesive visual presence. Additionally, promotional materials such as flyers, posters, and digital advertisements have been created to engage customers and drive traffic to the cafe. These materials highlight the cafe’s unique offerings, such as its food bike and locally sourced ingredients, enticing customers to visit and experience what Milano Cafe has to offer.
The signage and promotion strategy also extends to the use of social media and online platforms, where the cafe actively engages with its audience through creative and engaging content. This includes behind-the-scenes looks at the cafe’s operations, special promotions, and interactive posts that encourage customer participation. By leveraging both physical and digital signage, as well as engaging promotional materials, Milano Cafe effectively communicates its brand message and attracts customers to its unique and inviting space.
Closing Thoughts
In conclusion, Milano Cafe’s design brief encompasses a comprehensive strategy to establish a strong and memorable brand identity. Through a combination of thoughtful design elements, including a distinctive logo, cohesive brand colors, and engaging signage, Milano Cafe aims to create a warm and inviting atmosphere that resonates with its target audience. The integration of digital solutions, such as a user-friendly website and self-service coffee kiosk, further enhances the cafe’s customer experience and convenience. With a focus on fun and engaging communication, both online and offline, Milano Cafe is poised to become a beloved destination in Viana do Castelo, Portugal, offering a unique and memorable cafe experience.