e’re sort of loving Mucca Design’s packaging design and cheeky copy for the newly-opened gourmet store Brooklyn Fare. You may already be familiar with Mucca’s work — examples include the branding and logo design of Keith McNally’s Balthazar and the recent website and logo redesign of Menu Pages. The work for Brooklyn Fare is a full-on identity: packaging design, custom typeface, copywriting, even interior signage and t-shirts (in all it uses only four colours). The packaging “talks” to the consumer using a witty tone, playing on tired clichés, and we’re especially fond of the coffee cup sleeves that poke fun at Starbucks, saying, “It’s a medium not a grande” and “It’s a small not a tall.” In their June email newsletter, Mucca Design had this to say: Getting to know our neighbours — strategically speaking our goal was to position this smaller, neighbourhood store to be able to compete with the national grocery giants. Considering the recent surge in development in the area, we wanted to establish the business as the go-to local store for incoming residents of upscale condos and nearby brownstones; consumers who want healthy and environmentally-friendly goods at a fair price.
We developed a name that would convey our client’s vision of a neighbourhood market that evokes the borough’s rich history: Brooklyn Fare. Next, we created a branding strategy that would give the store a unique voice, garnering attention and setting it apart from its competitors. The voice came through in a literal manner with text as the focus of the brand rather than imagery. We used our most excellent copywriting skills to achieve the right tone; one with the edgy humour that New Yorkers welcome. A colloquial brand calls for the creation of a personable typeface. Because the brand is based on copy meant to engage the customer, the proprietary typeface we created, Fare Serif, needed to echo that same playful tone. It is friendly and accessible and meant to be used BIG. For more information just visit:
