2013 Winners & Shortlists

Brief Explanation

The main challenge for us revolved around the duality of the project. The food/dining experience and restaurant concept were a novelty for the Lebanese market, but the location was part of Beirut’s heritage, and the brand’s ulterior motives were to preserve this heritage and remain environmentally friendly. So we had to create a sustainable identity that both reflected the heritage and forward thinking and that unpretentiously channeled the authenticity of the restaurant without coming in its way.

The Brief

The client’s brief was about 3 houses constructed at the end of the 19th century in Beirut. These three houses are located in the same neighborhood and they’re dispersed around an olive tree. The client wanted to turn this neighborhood into a restaurant and each house was to serve its own type of food: Italian food, Grill and Butcher, and a Wine bar cellar. The client described their restaurant as being culturally and eco-friendly, that offered a top quality and never before seen dining experience in Lebanon, while at the same time preserving the heritage of its authentic location.

How the final design was conceived

The purpose of the identity is descriptive; it doesn’t impose its design character over The Gathering’s personality. The final design was based on gothic typefaces and all elements were printed on recycled rough paper, through letterpress printing and using organic soy ink. This printing method gave our design a rough look as if it had been preserved for a long time. Products that were sold at The Gathering such as bottles and jars were made out of glass so that consumers could use them after they had consumed them. All stationary and some in-store elements were not printed, but stamped.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

The Gathering’s opening in 2012 was one of the most successful restaurant openings in Beirut. It rapidly became one of the most visited restaurants in Beirut attracting an eco-friendly, cultured and forward thinking community, which is the target market our clients wanted to attract.