Contemporary European dining in the heart of the bustling, cobbled streets of Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter.

Belfast's Hill Street, a vibrant area full of bars, restaurants, and creative studios, was once a cultural hub for makers and craftsmen. The Grade B building was suitably named ‘Waterman House’ to reflect the River Farset that once flowed perpendicular to Hill Street; a transport waterway that allowed produce and equipment to reach the narrow, winding streets.

This layered history of the area, combined with a no-frill attitude and a classic European fare ignited a subtle, contemporary branding direction for Crown Creative. A nod to both the building’s name and the movement of water was implemented through organic, custom detailing in the form of the Waterman’s signature W in the wordmark (based on FS Siena) and a colour splash of blue. A combination of FS Siena and Monotype Baskerville is used in the menus and drinks list to reflect the minimalistic, fine dining interiors created by chef and owner Niall McKenna and his team.

Through an amalgamation of these concepts, Crown has achieved an understated yet confident branding package that suitably reflects the long-standing, upmarket milieu Niall has constructed over the course of his long career.

Sa’ada is a new water front real estate development in Bahrain. The visual identity and brand design was created at Unisono, using Larken and FS Siena. From the case study:

For the type palette, we are using Ellen Luff’s Larken in headline sizes for its sheer presence. A bold and confident serif typeface design, Larken sails between the rocks of the contemporary and breezy classic worlds with ease. As Ellen would say, Larken is “Designed to reflect nature, it creates a sense of natural softness and expressiveness. We pushed the concept into a usability focused direction, to work as a bold tool and beautiful communicator”. Nicely said. Suited to display sizes, the type design is coupled with Fontsmith’s Siena for smaller sizes. Both type families have a classical DNA thanks to the contrasting strokes in their designs.

As of 2022, the rebrand is in the process of being rolled out.

The visual identity for Mongolia-based styling studio Suree reflects the main ideas inspiring its references – elegance and unassuming luxury. The fonts used combine a similar flair. The ultra-modern FS Siena was used to create a minimalist logo. Complemented with Futura and the more decorative Hoefler Text, the visual identity strikes a balance between the feminine and the contemporary.

One Design worked closely with restaurateurs Keene and Megan Addington to develop a new seafood restaurant concept in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood, bringing the spirit of the Maine Coast to the city they call home.

From the brand story to the name, identity, visual expression, and messaging—with Two Lights we created the foundation of a fresh and exciting concept that serves as a respite from the heavy culinary fare Chicago is famous for.

In collaboration with Northworks Architects, we created a seamless translation from graphic expression to the physical space itself.

The dramatic contrast within Oil Can was perfect choice for the core Two Lights wordmark—which celebrates the typographic vernacular of Portland, Maine (a major source of inspiration for the restaurant concept, and the summer how of the Addingtons). However Oil Can on its own—as a display face—was not versatile enough to be used across the various touchpoints of the restaurant, from menus to environmental graphics. Fontsmith’s Sienna—similar in spirit—was our beautiful workhorse counterpart. Atlas Grotesk—classic, no-nonsense and functional—became our choice for the detailed copy. And Atlas Typewritwer became the go-to for the “Seafood & Oysters” byline, bringing a bit of contemporary contrast to the logo lockup itself.