Frameworks Café
Exhibit Design Ltd.
Client: Cycle Superstore
Frameworks Café brings two great things together - cycling and excellent coffee (oh, and some very tasty food!) The name of the café originates from the name of the building itself — 'Frameworks,' which just so happens to work really well for a cycling-themed café.
Challenge
Cycle Superstore are Ireland's largest bike retailer, specialising in MTB, Road racing, Triathlon, Commuting and the Cycle 2 Work scheme. They saw an opportunity to enhance the customer experience by integrating a café in their Tallaght premises.
Overview
Exhibit Design were tasked with creating the interior layout, material finishes and identity design for Frameworks Café.
I was responsible for the logo design, brand guidelines, packaging and signage. The logo design is influenced by the simple geometry of bicycle parts. I focused on the basic shapes of the bicycle frame, handlebars, gears and wheels — and then began playing with those shapes.
My Role:
Logo & Identity Design, Interior & Exterior Signage & Packaging
Collaboration:
Exhibit Design:
Project Management & Interior Design by Richard Barnwall
Interior Design by Ciarán Farrell
Interior build by Glocon Building Professionals
Logo Design
Once I had identified the basic shapes of a bicycle, I began experimenting with the word 'Frameworks' in different geometric typefaces. Because the letters 'M' and 'W' resemble a bicycle frame, I focused on creating a relationship between these letters. The Montserrat Light typeface worked best for what I was trying to achieve. The final outcome was two versions of the logo — portrait and landscape.
Packaging & Promotion
The brand features a bright colour palette. Yellow and black are the primary brand colours. They are complimented by accents of deep blue, light blue, turquoise and warm grey in the material finishes of the interior design. As part of the brand roll-out I created simple design solutions for packaging and promotion. The logo and visual language was applied to coffee cups, aprons, mugs, loyalty cards and screen-printed onto carrier bags.
Signage
The café signage includes an exterior sign with the logo in 3D lettering, a welcome sign above the interior door and a branded menu board. The logo is also applied directly to the pale wood finish of the two modular units in the space. Framework Café even features a bespoke, branded bicycle cart!
Interior Design
The interior features industrial style lighting, geometric wood panelling and modular display units. These display units showcase sepia photography of past cycle tours and events. Like the logo design, the unique metal chairs reference bicycle engineering. The small, square tables feature an element of the triangle pattern in different brand colours.