The Italian classic turns on its head (Part 1)

By Annie Aggarwal

Photography: Eric Laignel; courtesy Ippolito Fleitz

Read Time: 2 mins 

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Ippolito Fleitz designs the branding and identity for White Monkey, Pizza Lab and Bar using interdisciplinary thinking to establish the brand’s unconventional approach…

Award winning, Stuttgart-based design studio, Ippolito Fleitz has time and again proved its out-of-box success in the fields of architecture, interior design, communication design and product design. Their most recent project, White Monkey, Pizza Lab and Bar for Marché International reinvents the Italian classic Pizza, and offers a fresh and modern glimpse of the unique Italian instinct for lifestyle and dolce vita.

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A place for experimentation and socializing with friends, White Monkey clearly positions itself as a pizza lab and bar, where ingredients are combined in unusual ways, the pizzas are long instead of round, cut with scissors and shared amongst friends. The pizzeria doubles as a cocktail bar, an urban meeting place that is open all day.

 

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Ippolito Fleitz furthers this unique image and the Marché passion for quality and freshness into a visual and spatial identity, interpreting traditional roots in a contemporary way. Trusted memories are replenished with modern elements and condensed into a collage throughout, the amalgam runs through the entire design concept from the logo to the colour palette, the graphics, and the space.

 

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The logo creates a striking visual appearance with the classic serif font combined with a modern font and a monkey topping the O, reflecting the White Monkey philosophy.

 

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The colour palette features warm rose, red and earthy tones reminiscent of the traditional Italian culture; these lifted with a combination of blues and yellows cultivates a tonal balance.

 

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Bold graphics, nostalgic motifs transposed into a modern urban context further the brand identity. Italian sculptures, swimsuit-clad Italian models find themselves on and in combination with oversized flower motifs, colourfully abstract forms and elements of the surreal.

The friendly brand ambassador and the eponymous White Monkey, finally offers an unconventional world of pizza with a cheeky twinkle of the eye and fresh ideas. A perplexing yet trusted element, it greets customers throughout, as a neon sign outside, guised as an occasional table lamp or signpost inside, or on glasses, carafes and bread bags; while monkey shaped business cards can be taken along as a playful reminder.

 

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White Monkey consistently reflects its bold brand identity, implemented spatially, visually on especially designed pizza boards, menus and for communication media, both print– invites, posters, advertisements and digital – website and social media channels.

The lusty, lively and often crazy concept of the White Monkey with an almost surreal brand image finds voice in the interior design of the pizzeria as well. Featuring tomorrow, stay tuned to see how Ippolito Fleitz employs their new age identity of the Italian classic into the interiors of White Monkey Pizza Lab and Bar.