← Work · Restaurant · Bauru, Brazil
MerceariaImmigrant kitchen
A restaurant opened in 2023, with the brand of a place that seems to have been on the corner for a hundred years.
- Client
- Mercearia · Bauru, Brazil
- Year
- 2023 and 2024
- Scope
- Visual identity, brand guide, menus, placemat, label, Whisky Club and signage
- Highlight
- A woodcut-textured seal that travels from kraft paper to marble
01 — Where it started
Pan tomaca, porchetta romana, salt-cod croquetas and Argentine milanesa on the same menu.
Mercearia opened in Bauru in 2023 with the cooking immigrants spread across Brazil, served to be shared at the table, the way families eat at home.
The brand nods to the old neighbourhood grocer, where the owner knew every customer by name. I looked for references on the counters of European grocers: the round seal of a craft maker, old-signage serifs, cellar burgundy and the colour of kraft paper.
02 — The seal · anatomyThe seal · the stampThe seal · variations
The face of an old coin, a touch of rust.
- Dotted border
- Lettered ring
- M monogram
- Woodcut texture
- Laurel wreath
- Founding year
A craft maker’s seal, built piece by piece.
The main version, wear marks and all.
Burgundy on cream #7B1818 · #F2E8CC
Cream on burgundy #F2E8CC · #7B1818
Warm black #160F0F
White, for marble and glass
03 — The system
Six colours taken from the pantry.
Kraft paper, a dark cellar, marble and spice. Three type families: a signage display face for headings, a sans for text and a serif for labels. The quick brand guide covers construction, clear space, minimum sizes and what never to do with the seal.
- Warm black#160F0F
- Burgundy#7B1818
- Crimson#A02323
- Craft cream#F2E8CC
- Kraft paper#C19E70
- Dark brown#3C2A23
04 — At the table
“Hunger doesn’t keep office hours!”
The kraft placemat became a pocket menu: a plate and cutlery drawn in the middle, the lunch of the day, the house porchetta and the appetiser table around the edges.
05 — Menu
From the garden to the Negroni.
Two long sheets for food and two for the bar, with engraving-style illustrations. In the kitchen: small plates, charcuterie, sandwiches and milanesas. At the bar: vermouths, spritzes, classic cocktails and the house caipirinhas.
06 — For members
Whisky Club.
The club got its own kit: a kraft wallet inside a burgundy cover and a numbered black member card with marble veining.
07 — On the shelf
The house olive oil.
The extra virgin olive oil label borrows the ornate frame of old labels. The seal at the top, the name in capitals and “immigrant kitchen” at the foot, like a signature.
08 — In the dining room
From the glass to the awning.
Mockups of the brand in use: the seal on a glass, a paper bag, a plate, a wall sign and the sidewalk awning.
09 — Deliverables
- Primary, secondary and small-size logos
- Quick brand guide
- Palette & typography
- Food & drinks menus
- Placemat
- Olive oil label
- Whisky Club: wallet & card
- Signage
- Creative direction & design
- Gabriel Vitiver
- Client
- Mercearia · Immigrant kitchen
- Period
- 2023 and 2024