Mister Bianco

2023
Creative Direction & Brand Design

After 13 years of trade at 285 High Street, Kew, Sicilian restaurant Mister Bianco moved to an expansive two-storey space at 26-28 Cotham Road. Expanding into a new three-part venue, the brief was to craft a unified visual identity that honoured Sicilian heritage and high-end design and hospitality experiences, while creating distinct but connected spatial experiences for the restaurant, the bar, and the event space.

As Creative Director, I led concept development, identity design, messaging, and spatial coordination to help signal this new era for the restaurant. Positioned at a key road junction and with a tram stop outside, the geographic and architectural context of the new site became the starting point for a brief delivered to Mills Gorman Architects. The refresh of the building's new facade referenced railway stations built during the Italian rationalist movement – in particular, Venezia S.L, Firenze S.M.N, and Roma Termini. Interiors were to follow the same rationale through reimagining a station waiting lounge in a hospitality context.

This same conceptual direction underpinned the development of the master brand for Mister Bianco. The three spaces were defined as the restaurant, a cocktail bar named Bianchetto – with a distinctive but cohesive logomark, and upstairs function space named Sala.

Drawing from Dante’s Divine Comedy, a layered identity system was created. Each space was given its own symbolic character inspired by artisan pantographic markmaking. A monochromatic brand palette was complemented by a broad swatch set gathered from notable classical artworks for each part of Dante’s poem, connecting to the three spaces.

Inferno for Mister Bianco — warm, energetic, rooted in culinary tradition and cooking with fire
Purgatorio for Bianchetto — transitional, moody, and a place of transformation
Paradiso for Sala — bright, celebratory, light-filled, open and refined

Inspired by Italian municipal signage, the brand mark is made from a custom typeface named MB Block. The typographic selection is completed with DJR Forma Medium and GT Alpina in Thin.

Menus throughout all three spaces are presented as literary objects, with covers leatherbound with antique brass hardware. Excerpts from Dante’s Divine Comedy are present throughout, connecting the guest with the storytelling voice of the identity.

The dimly lit cocktail bar is contrasted with light coloured printed outcomes, powder green connecting to the dark olive and gold colour palette of the space. Custom billfolds connect with the two downstairs spaces – an interpretation of a vintage leather travel wallet for the restaurant, and a simple leather panel with brass hardware for the cocktail bar.

The upstairs is noticeably lighter – backlit signage references transport hubs, and paper choices conceptually connect with Paradiso.

Campaigns and special events begin with illustrative posters inspired by mid-century Italian advertising, and capture the personality of Chef Owner Joseph Vargetto, before application across restaurant digital channels. Other printed ephemera connect to the three spaces through their respective colour palettes and celebrate Italian culture through photography, film, art, and music.

The website for Mister Bianco received a facelift, alongside a new, dedicated site for Bianchetto – emphasizing photography and breathing new contemporary life into the brand's digital presence.

Imagining a mid-century Sicilian vacation, a silk scarf was developed as part of the opening uniform. Using the brand colour palette as a guide, Gary Bigeni developed a collection of front-of-house tees and collared shirts.

Additional project credits:
Mills Gorman Architects (Interiors), Grafico (Signage Production), MenuCorp (Menu Covers), Kristoffer Paulsen, Silvia Zanon, Jessie Evans (Digital Photography), Dynamite Digital (Web Development), Gary Bigeni (Uniforming), Sunday Lunch (PR)