Ottolenghi introduces playful cut-outs and joyful illustrated faces in a refresh on the brand’s classic identity

Known for its sleek paired down presence, across restaurant and deli interiors, recipe books, and packaging, Ottolenghi’s distinct visual identity lets the food do most of the talking. The minimal, refined wordmark on deli signage, alongside the brand’s classic red-and-white colour palette are known across London, as visual cues synonymous with the chef, restaurant owner and food writer.

When independent design studio and experts in communication and packaging design for food, Irving & Co took on a rebrand for Ottolenghi, the team was keen to “respect this timeless visual integrity” as they added a healthy dose of its “new joyful graphic language over the top” says founder and creative director Julian Roberts. Conscious to not over-design the brand experience, the studio has kept consistent with Ottolenghi’s red and white with “a simple and bold illustrated language to express the joy and conviviality of Ottolenghi”.

This illustrative approach all started with a new accompaniment to the brand’s classic logotype: a moving, vibrant sun that acts as a new core mark and a warm nod to the Mediterranean origins of Ottolenghi’s food. This fun signature was created in the studio using cut-outs in a “spontaneous and joyful manner” says Julian. The sun, coloured in the brand’s quintessential red, aims to serve as an iconic representation of Ottolenghi across restaurants, delis, menus and food packaging — one that you’ll start to see as much as the steady logotype.

This new joyful spirit also came to be personified in a painterly face created by artist and friend of Ottolenghi, Ivo Bisignano. Unlike the sun, this face appears sparingly across applications, “appearing out of nowhere like a wink or little spirit”, says Julian. An illustrated expression that some might recognise from Ottolenghi’s ceramics, this silly friendly face is animated to communicate a range of human emotions online and can be found in stores, peeking round the edges of jar labels and packaging.

Based on the spontaneous sun mark and playful faces, Irving & Co also created a comprehensive series of cut-outs, using paper to illustrate a visual library of Ottolenghi’s classic ingredients. Pomegranates, fish and beans will now be stamping the deli’s paper bags, showing off just a snippet of the wonderful image making of foods of all shapes and sizes that organise the ‘Foodipedia’ section on the new Ottolenghi website — a satisfying A-Z guide of the ingredients that define the brand and just one of the ways Studio Graft translated these tactile elements onto elegant and functional experiences in Ottolenghi's online word.

Irving & Co has also made some small tweaks to the original wordmark — a brand signature that hasn’t changed since Ottolenghi opened in Notting Hill in 2002. Sharpening the corners, adjusting the kerning and creating a slightly bolder version, the team have emphasised the best qualities of the house typeface Riforma – without losing its familiar flattened lines and angular curves.

Shona Campbell, chief growth and marketing officer for Ottolenghi says: “We are very fond of the original logo and wanted to preserve this whilst exploring additional marks that allow us to give the brand more expression. We kept coming back to this idea that we aim to create food that makes you smile, and Irving & Co really enjoyed this brief of uplifting the brand universe to convey this [...] The whole experience we wanted to deliver was as close to what you feel when you walk into one of our delis.”