Fresh From The Field — Milenta / The Shy Guy – By Studio South
Our friends over at Studio South shared with us their recent brand identity work for Milenta and The Shy Guy, a new restaurant and nightclub in Auckland’s Victoria Park. Inspired by the Latin food culture of flames, wine, and dancing, Studio South’s final design creates an easy going tone and features expressive, illustrative accents.
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The Brief:
Studio South was approached to design the visual identity for a new restaurant & nightclub at Auckland’s Victoria Park. The brief was to create an exciting new destination in Auckland that plays up a diverse, and entertaining set of experiences across the two offerings. Milenta, a South American inspired restaurant that is in flux with seasonal ingredients, using the key method of cooking over coals, and The Shy Guy, an exclusive club that blends community events, club nights, DJ’s and entertainment. Both were to sit in beautifully designed interiors by our friends at Izzard Design. The identity needed to present both as a family of offerings, while still giving each a distinct flair.
The Design Response:
We applied an easy-going, approachable tone of voice in designing the brand identity, to make it feel inviting, casual, and fun. Milenta takes inspiration from the Latin world, a mix of Columbian food culture, the flame, the dance, the wine – blending it all into a melting pot of cool culture. For an added brand expression we developed a set of expressive illustrative accents that reference the sparks of cooking over coals. The Shy Guy’s identity system to sits alongside Milenta, but has a distinct palette, chosen to harmonize with the interior finishes. The logo is paired with an illustrative brandmark – a playful personification of the ‘shy guy’.
The brand wordmarks are set in the distinctive typeface, Signal Compressed by Production Type. The stretched letterforms felt reminiscent of the imperfections of hand-painted signage. The typeface has a playful, fun nature that felt suited to the tone of both offerings.
The Design Team:
Sam Southwell – Creative Director
Amy Matthews – Designer
https://www.studiosouth.co.nz/
@studiosouthnz
The Client Team:
Andres Andrade
Matt McKenzie
@whoistheshyguy
@eatmilenta
https://www.milenta.co.nz/
Collaborators:
Interiors – Izzard
Photography – Supernormal, Jono Parker, Luke Foley Martin
