Bonbon Maison
A brand new store born of a daring mix between gastronomy and art, to bring macarons faits à la main. This global design of branding, packaging, advertising, UX/UI and social networks was part of my degree's Final Project. Let's dive in!
Project: Bonbon Maison
Role: Creative Director, Graphic Designer and Illustrator
Reporting to: Claudio Rodriguez / Vectorica
Date: Mar - Jun 2021
For my Final Project, I had to come up with a new brand that would explore all my skills and push me to my creative limits. But before thinking about logos and graphics, I needed an identity to bring to life! So, I sat down to write:
What happens when you mix art and gastronomy? Well, a Maison is born, of course!
Bonbon Maison is a store specialized in the creation of the well-known french sweet called Macaron, with a special artistic influence typical of its geography and culture. It presents a wide variety of flavors and encourages the creative combination of these. It's a brand that promotes gastronomic and artistic experiences through its products, workshops and informative channels, seeking to turn curiosity into a healthy, enriching and, of course, delicious experience.
Each Maison is a two-story high store, where cafeteria services and product sales are provided; and on the top floor is the Atelier and the Cuisine where cooking and art workshops are held for anyone who dreams to become an artist for a day.
Welcome to the Maison!
Complete brand manual
The sweetest branding
BONBON MAISON - French (n.) Refers to homemade sweets / delicacies. The meaning 'Sweet Home' is also accepted, both in harmony with the image I had in mind for this project
For the brand's logo I tapped into the artistic influence that represents the Maison to incorporate a handmade look in its logo mark, with custom typography. After many explorations and research, the final look works around the swirly O's that the pâtissiers write on their recipes, a sweet detail I detected.
This handwritten technique will be present all over the brands collaterals in the form of various icons, arrows and underlines, adding dynamism to each piece and bringing a heartwarming look to the Maison.
The hands of a pâttisier
The Maison's global use of color is concentrated in a system of strokes and brushes, inspired by the decoration on the lids of the macarons, to highlight the human feel of the brand.
I painted each individual stroke so that they could be used on their own, superimposed and in new color combinations. Depending on the format and the piece, they vary in prominence, and this is their greatest advantage: The versatility of the system.
A bright, cheerful voice
Voice and tone play a huge part on branding, and I made sure to incorporate the Maison's sweet, friendly personality on all aspects of its communication - from the most institutional of pieces to the very first menu you see at the tables.
Its versatile system and cheeky fonts made it easy to expand the universe and appeal to all clients, without losing its seriousness and professionalism, while also providing a happy, unique world that swallows you completely.
The sweetest packaging
When it comes to selling its products, the Maison has a huge variety of combinations! Keeping this in mind, I created different collections of packaging with one central concept: Windows to show off the main attraction, our beloved Macarons.
A collection of individual boxes housing 9 macarons previously picked for their color and flavor into 5 different Palettes.
This collection was designed to be replicated forever as new combinations appear, so I created a versatile packaging with a main color that differentiates each Pallete. The current combos are:
This collection was designed to be replicated forever as new combinations appear, so I created a versatile packaging with a main color that differentiates each Pallete. The current combos are:
Rose violette | Rouge Orangé | Crème Brune | Blanc Jaune | Vert Bleu
.A collection of individual boxes of 2, 4 or 10 macarons that the customer selects to taste from the entire catalog of the great Maison. And the flavors are not the only customizable part! These boxes are decorated with sheets of stickers to give it the final Bonbon touch. Choose between your favorite flavors and become an artist!
This is a special packaging meant for the clients and small artists who participate in the Maison's Workshop, cooking and decorating their own macarons!. At the end of the day, they take home a box of 5 decorated macarons (plus all the ones they've already tried freshly baked!) with their fully customizable box.
This is the perfect gift of homemade sweets to give to someone special!
Here's the 3D packaging I modeled and animated, put together in a quick reel!
La Maison in the world
Visiting the Maison is a unique experience, with an official playlist playing in the background and that characteristic perfume of freshly baked delicacies flowing all around the floors.
The brand appeals to all the senses offering a 360° experience, from each macaron that you try, to the lighting, comfy couches and friendly staff that greets you at the door.
La Maison prides itself in its community: They engage in social events, train bakers and artists, send monthly newsletters about classic artists and new revelations that long to be discovered, and create collaborations with local museums to spread the arts around town.
It's a genuine interest and engagement with the community that made Bonbon Maison what it is today, and they will continue to serve the community and advocate for all creatives.
