Carmella’s Cafe & Dessert Bar: Rebranding a Charleston staple.
Check live website
When the owner of Carmella’s Cafe & Dessert Bar had established a downtown Charleston iconic dessert spot, they also found themselves with a date logo that they very quickly outgrew. The old brand featured an illustrated ice cream cone, something they no longer even sold, so it was time for a refresh. Through the discovery meeting with the client, I uncovered the story of its humble beginnings and its future goals to expand. In conversations, we discussed the inspiration behind the location: The owner’s Italian grandmother, Carmella, who was always the center of their family gatherings around the dinner table. She was an extraordinary woman who was always cooking, not just for her own family, but for her neighbors and community, as well. I was given the chance to look through old photos of Carmella, images of their family crest (a sun), and thoroughly discussed the shop’s intention of serving as an Italian Piazza where people could come together as a community.
Armed with a passion for telling the client’s unique story, I spent time scouring the menu, old photos, and enveloping myself in the story of Carmella’s. I wanted to whip up the perfect solution by creating an image that truly represented their business and captured what they stood for. After working through numerous sketches and concepts with personal touches, I landed on the concept of a combined image of the sun and profile of Carmella.
With the concept of creating a new family crest specifically for their business at hand, I went to work designing varying ideas of what this could look like. I wanted to keep it classic, but with a whimsical tone, since their handcrafted desserts were the perfect excuse to indulge with loved ones. The final selected logo ended up serving as a perfect blend for representing this concept. With Carmella looking through a window at the restaurant beaming with love and a sun encompassing their family, this logo was designed to fill customers with the warmth that everyone’s favorite grandmother was famous for.
