Teikna design was asked to design a new communication and branding programme for Da Vittorio, a 3 Michelin star restaurant and resort in Bergamo, Italy.

The challenge in doing so was twofold: DaVittorio has a very established reputation with food aficionados who probably wouldn't be too much in favour of a radical departure. Therefore maintaing consistency with some aspect of the past identity and communication was important. On the other hand it was equally essential to project a new image, more in keep with the client's current reputation and position in the marketplace. Something which would communicate in no uncertain terms that DV has reached a "next level".

The work was divided in 2 parts: first task was to streamline the brand structure, namely the relationship and hierarchy for the client's different activities - catering, specialty food-store, banquet, hotel restaurant, cooking school, mail order, catalogue, etc. We then tackled the logo redesign - some elements had to be kept in place, namely the hat-like shape and the Relais & Chateaux logo - and proceeded with a complete redesign of all the different elements of the ID: complete stationery, items ranging from restaurant menu to rooms' materials, food packaging (boxes, jars, tins, etc.) for the mail order division, shopping bags, wrapping, product labels.

The second part of the work was to redesign and restructure the client's website and literature - including corporate profile, product brochures and giveaways, and finally the website. Tackling so many different aspects of the brand proved to be a complex task. From a strictly technical point of view for instance, we had to involve several different suppliers as special packaging materials and techniques is required for food items in order to meet international regulations.

From a creative standpoint, it was clear to me as a creative director that the project's image had to be one that projected both elegance and substance, which was to be spread on each item, form the smallest of labels to the web. An important role was given to the choice of materials and printing techniques: hot foil stamp in matte gold, debossing, hand stiching, paper' custom embossing are just some of the techniques employed in this production. Without the suppliers direct involvement and technical support we wouldn't have been able to produce this level of work.

After a 12 months work process the client was ready to unveil the new identity at a special press conference. Finally, the brand id seemed to match the restaurant menu and reputation...

Design Firm: Teikna Design
Client: DaVittorio Relais&Chateaux
Creative Director and designer: Claudia Neri
Account executive: Paolo Mascìa
Production assistant: Camilla Gatti
Principal suppliers (print) : Fontegrafica srl; Tiburtini; Martignoni; Marchesi.
Web services: Webresults
Photography: Simone Casetta