Daniel & Denise is a French family delicatessen originating from the town of Lyon, France. For generations, they’ve manufactured and distributed their food products to the local community. They’ve built a respected reputation and a reliable identity throughout the years. When it comes to branding, though, the company found themselves suffering from lack of direction.
However, a business steeped in traditionalism needn’t avoid modernization. The owners and operators of Daniel & Denise knew this when they hired the German-based independent agency, Design Studio B.O.B., to brand the company’s image.
Professional designers had never officially branded D&D. As a result, years of disorganization led to an excess of design elements and fonts with no real hierarchy or order. The company wanted a clean, concise, and modern branding identity. One that they could easily apply to all aspects of their business, from jam to soups to plates.
For an independent studio in Düsseldorf, the task of creating a fresh and modern take without sacrificing the “traditional essence” of the family business could have seemed daunting. However, B.O.B. knew how to take the client’s desires and requirements and create a vision worth standing behind.
“They wanted a design that would stand out next to other brands products,” says Design Studio B.O.B. “It should communicate the high quality of the products and the generations of experience.” The designers knew that the delicatessen’s client base included a large number of older people who had been loyal to the brand for years and years. To this end, the designs had to be easy to understand and visually linked to the old brand.
The use of red throughout the branding, as well as the red & white “Vichy” pattern, were key visuals. B.O.B. kept this in mind during the branding process. Attempting to remain faithful to D&D’s history, the design studio decided to modernize, simplify, and re-structure the logo.
The logo, and by extension the labels, had to show a lot of different information. As can be seen, B.O.B solved this problem through a combination of fonts and smart, selective use of red to “give the logo a clean order.” Only the business’s mark/icon logo and the chef’s name appear in red.
The logo mark itself serves a dual purpose. The iconic lion represents Daniel & Denise’s home base in Lyon, France. Simultaneously, the transformation of the lion into an ampersand symbol underlines the alliance between the two founders.
Also, the square shape of the mark made it perfect the new Vichy, or Gingham fabric, pattern. According to Studio B.O.B., this helped turn the pattern “used by an endless number of brands” into a unique personal character for D&D’s branding.
“The most difficult aspect leads to my favorite one,” says Studio B.O.B. “Being able to give this whole lot of information an elegant and sophisticated look and still making it feel like a traditional and personal brand.” The packaging needed to clearly and concisely convey a lot of information. The brand had to be recognizable, yet each product required easy identification for the older client base.
As a result, the studio juxtaposed black and white pointillism with colorful traditional acrylic paintings for the packaging. “The raw black and white still life illustrations are very easy to understand,” according to B.O.B.
These simple illustrations work perfectly in combination with the labels. Fine lines creating an effective grid layout help keep the label organized. The order and structure lead the eye from the most critical information to the smaller details.
The logo adorns the top of the label, creating a subtle, minimalist pop of red. As a result, the labels feel simple and straightforward. This minimal design style coexists with the traditional acrylic paintings, creating that traditional-yet-modern look the clients wanted.
Additionally, the background paintings add another layer of color. This pop of color is perfect for drawing the attention of the intended demographic.
The branding process can sometimes be quite tricky. Luckily for Design Studio B.O.B., Denise & Denise immediately loved the design solution and new aesthetic. Most of the design phases involved tweaking the details like label resizing and specific objects.
That kind of trust and support from a client is every design studio’s dream! It is a testament to Design Studio B.O.B.’s creativity and natural design style.
“Our design studio B.O.B. emerged from the alliance of us three freelancers Lilly Friedeberg, Marc Oortman and Alessia Sistori in February 2018. We had been working already on various projects together in the areas of branding, illustration, set design and photography before deciding to found our own studio in Düsseldorf, Germany.”
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