ABBIOCCO
Art Direction:
Bryan Satalino
Branding, Illustration, Typography
Abbiocco is a brand identity for a modern Roman restaurant reminiscent of the old–world kingdoms of Italy, but with a playful feel incorporating the most famous Romanesco words and phrases into the menu and restaurant decor. The word ‘Abbiocco’ comes from the Roman dialect, and the word’s meaning is what shapes the look and feel of the restaurant.
Abbiocco is a Romanesco word meaning the sensation of sleepiness after a satisfying meal. The restaurant’s branding incorporates cultural and linguistic education into the sharing of a meal.
Typography
In hopes to stray away from the Roman style capitals I wanted to embrace a friendlier approach that still felt just as loud as Roman capitals, but more exaggerative, personable, and reminiscent of a that feeling of having a
full-belly of food.
- No counters
- Slab serif
- Wide spacing
- Humanist
- Round corners
- Imprecise
I wanted to create a fresh Italian restaurant that didn’t feel like something that had been done before. I had two main aesthetic directions that I wanted to include:
AESTHETIC DIRECTION
- Royal/old world — inspired by 19th century Italy, a time when there were still kingdoms ruling different parts of Italy, and the pope had control over Rome, commissioning many projects. It wasn’t until 1871 that Italy became unified politically.
- Playful—use of the classic Roman capitals in a fun way, using dialect words and phrases to disrupt the authoritative feel of ancient Roman font.
