bites to go
9 junio, 2022
Museu Nacional de Catalunya, espais gastronòmics
2020
Art direction, naming and branding for the gastronomic spaces of the National Museum of Catalonia. The aim of this project was to name the gastronomic spaces and create a brand identity that would highlight their value and reinforce the museum's reputation as a destination for both art and gastronomy in Barcelona.
The name "fresc" has a double meaning. On the one hand, it refers to the colloquial expression “secure a la fresca,” which means being on a terrace or outdoors enjoying the temperature. On the other hand, it refers to the main artistic treasure that the museum has, which is the Romanesque fresco painting. This naming strategy links the gastronomic space with the works of the museum and allows us to include the museum's branding. In this way, the spaces are perceived as part of the museum rather than independent services.
The name and logo for Oleum were provided in the initial briefing. The name refers to the olive oil commonly used in the Mediterranean diet. By applying a new creative concept, we added another dimension to the name that referenced the artistic technique of oil painting. This reconnected the museum with its identity since modernist oil paintings are another essential element of the museum's artistic collection.
The cafeteria space was simply called the “cafè”, referring to the history of cafes and their influence on the avant-garde at the beginning of the century as meeting places for artists. For this reason, it was decided to decorate the rooms with advertising posters and photographs of artists. Modernist poster design is another treasure of the museum.
The identity of the spaces has been developed around the Gotham font. The museum's typography is Gotham condensed. I decided to continue using it to create uniformity in the brand. In the gastronomic spaces, Gotham condensed is used for headlines and highlights, while regular Gotham is used for everything else.
Fresc's identity was developed around the art piece "Master of Sorpe," a medieval Romanesque art painting from the mid-12th century. This painting contained a decorative border that ran through the entire temple, which allowed us to use it as a decorative element in the bar.
For Oleum, the main image is the abstract texture of an oil painting in blue tones, which refers to the fact that the modeling color is blue. We made a selection of works painted in oil and whose theme was food for the menu. In this way, the works shown can change according to the season, creating a flexible identity in service of the museum.
For the development of the image of the coffee, we mainly used the image of a modernist advertising poster that made a reference to coffee, where the texture of the print was appreciated. The texture and organic shapes of the poster gave us the character we were looking for.
