Authentic ItaliAn

Client

Sysco

Year

2023

Scope of work

Wordmark, Editorial Design, Brand Guidelines

Authentic Italian is a branding and publication project for Sysco Ireland. It’s purpose is to highlight the Authentic Italian offerings available from Sysco food ranges.

The concept for the design gives a nod to the handwritten notes in an Italian Nonna’s cookbook, encorporating illustrations, arrows and notes in a hand-drawn style.

It was important to use these elements thoughtfully as legbility was of the upmost importance given the purpose of the material.

Typography

The Authentic Italian wordmark aims to evoke the high quality nature of the associated products. Acta Display is used as the primary font due to its elegant appearance while retained clear legibility. The variety of ligatures and alternates add interest while contrasting with the paired fonts. The primary font is used in lowercase to retain an approachable feeling despite the traditionally elegant nature of the font.

The secondary font is a complimentary sans serif to contrast with and allow authority to the headings. Avenir was chosen due to its clean geometric lines, while retaining a more human feel than similar sans serif fonts. The body text uses Myriad Pro from the Sysco brand guidelines. It was important that all heading choices accompany this body text.

Visual Identiy

All imagery used focuses on natural, lifestyle photography. Photography was provided by the client, with artistic direction influenced by early drafts of the brochure which foused on a rustic and warm feeling.

Photos were accomapnied by sketch-like illustrations. The aim of these illustrations were to provide interest throughout and give a nod to the inspiration of the Nonna’s Italian cookbook. Hand drawn arrows and script text further emphasised this.

The colour palette pulls from the colours of Italy to ensure the brochure is instantly recognisable. This was important for the client due to the broad range of brochures they supply. A dark green was chosen as the primary colour, with red used sparingly as a secondary colour to avoid an overtly gimmicky appearance. Muted tones were chosen for each and complimented by neutrals to help create a sophisticated colour palette.