March’s highlights included new packaging for organic energy drink StrangeLove by Marx Design, Acre’s brand identity for Singapore based Italian restaurant chain Marco Marco, IS Creative Studio’s work for the Latin American Design Festival and Peter Gregson’s bold label treatment for Djurdjic Winery. However, there were five projects that stood out and have made it into BP&O’s Best of Series, a feature that brings together the most interesting and unusual projects published on the site each for another opportunity to be seen and shared.

Belle Epoque designed by Mind

Belle Epoque is a French patisserie, located on Islington’s Upper Street, that crafts cakes, chocolates, viennoseries, tarts and quiches from high quality ingredients in a kitchen designed to complement the unrivalled expertise of their chef. Originally commissioned to create Belle Epoque’s website, Mind Design went on to develop the project into a full brand identity exercise which included still life images, stationery, packaging and website. Inspired by the drawings of English Art Nouveau artist Aubrey Beardsley, Belle Epoque’s new brand identity is built around a bold and distinctive black and white motif, the flourishes of a gold ink and block foil print finish, and photography that draws out the colour, artistry and detail of the pastry work through contrast.

See more of this project here

Fosnavåg designed by Heydays

Fosnavåg is a city on the island of Bergsøya, situated off the west coast of Norway, not far from the Altantic Ocean. It is home to a variety of maritime businesses including fishing, logistics and shipbuilding, and is now the location of Fosnavaag Cultural Centre, a new concert hall founded by the local community.

Designed by Oslo based studio Heydays, Fosnavaag Cultural Centre’s brand identity explores the relationship between Fosnavåg and the Atlantic Ocean – the foundation of local industry and culture – the point at which old weathered buildings meet a precise and contemporary structure, technology and innovation, as well as the convergence of sea and music. This was visualised as an identity system that included dynamic logo and interactive signage, illuminated interior displays, t-shirts, badges and print.

See more of this project here

Marbella Club designed by Pentagram

Marbella Club is a hotel, spa and golf resort located in the Spanish coastal city of Marbella, on the shores of the Mediterranean sea. Built as the private residence of Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, and converted by the prince into an exclusive, private hotel and retreat in 1957, Marbella Club has a significant heritage, and has played host to royalty, stars of the silver screen, and legends of the music business.

While perhaps some of the glamour of 1950’s and 60’s Hollywood has left us, Pentagram’s new brand identity treatment, directed by John Rushworth and coinciding with Marbella Club’s sixtieth birthday and recent refurbishment, captures some of the qualities of the period and confidently plays with nostalgia, glamour and legacy with a contemporary precision. This occurs in print through texture, colour, photography and symbology, and online with a detailed timeline component.

See more of this project here

Stone Way Cafe designed by Shore

Stone Way Cafe, formerly the Tiny Ninja Cafe, is a Seattle based neighbourhood meeting point, music venue and internet cafe, in the area of Fremont, with a formidable, geometric, concrete exterior structure and a warmer interior of wood surfaces created by goCstudio. Design studio Shore, working closely with signwriters and fabricators, created a brand identity treatment for the cafe, which included a variety of typographical assets, signage and business cards, that takes its inspiration from the industry and personality of the neighbourhood.

Read more of this article here

Designtorget designed by Kurppa Hosk

Designtorget is a Swedish design store and brand founded by architect Jerry Hellström in 1993 with the intention of making the very best contemporary furniture, arts and design from across the country available to the mass market. It now has 16 stores throughout Norway and Sweden and a broad catalogue of functional, high-quality products, selected by jury, produced by both unknown and established designers, and considered creative, innovative and have their own history. The brand is actively involved in the design community, committed to helping emerging designers, and has become an important driver behind the growing popularity of Swedish design.

Designtorget worked with Stockholm based design studio Kurppa Hosk to redesign its brand identity in a way that would secure the store a more contemporary look and feel. This went on to include logotype, flexible logo, packaging, tags, bags and stationery design.

See more of this project here