Challenge

When restaurateurs Gherardo Guarducci and Dimitri Pauli decided to open an Italian fine dining destination in the former Lever House Restaurant—designed by artist Marc Newson—they wanted to bring the culture of Milanese hospitality to midtown Manhattan. Our challenge was to rebrand a space that was well-known for its high-profile modern interior, and to also maintain a continuity with our clients’ highly regarded Sant Ambroeus restaurants.

Action

Working closely with the client, we began by creating a positioning statement to help the partners decide how the new brand would relate to that of their successful Sant Ambroeus business. Given the different locale and clientele, our strategy was to give Casa Lever its own unique identity that communicated its affiliation with the sister business in a subtle way. We created a visual language inspired by 20th Century Italian art and design —specifically the work of Futurist Fortunato Depero —with warm colors, bold shapes and geometries that draw from his iconic work, and relate to the inviting restaurant interiors. And of course, as with any highly-anticipated restaurant opening, the website is an essential communication tool; our design offered a sneak peak of the renovated dining room to curious customers.

Results

The new identity has an historical reference that establishes it as a family member of the Sant Ambroeus brand, while expressing its own unique personality through modern treatments that integrate it with the pre-existing interior, and the clean lines of the mid-century modern building.

Recognition

• Creative Quarterly 19

Link to Website >