CafèToso

Cafètoso is a historic venue in Pietra Ligure: breakfast, lunch, aperitivo. A reference point for locals and for those who return every summer. When the space expanded and the offer grew richer, the need emerged for a visual identity capable of narrating this evolution without betraying what Cafètoso has always been: authentic, convivial, informal yet carefully crafted.

I designed the logo from a typographic intuition. The “è” — at the centre of the name and of the creative idea — announces every moment of the venue. It is breakfast. It is lunch. It is aperitivo. The orange curve set the rhythm for the entire visual system: it appears in the logo, headlines, captions and, quite literally, in the body of the illustrations.

I developed two complementary illustration styles. The first is a system of flat, irregular shapes representing objects and moments of conviviality: a tomato, a chair, a cup, a glass. The second is line-based, with ever-changing characters connected by a single recognizable element: the same red curve of the “è”, integrated into the drawing as if it were part of the gesture or costume.

The palette works through strong but never cold contrasts. The system functions on a coaster, a menu, Instagram posts or a wall poster: every application tells the story of the same place with the same voice.