Manhatta restaurant and its adjacent events space, Bay Room, are perched sixty stories above lower Manhattan, offering majestic 360-degree views of the city and beyond. The name comes from Walt Whitman’s ode to his beloved city, “Mannahatta,” and Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group conceived the project as their own love letter to New York.

Our clients, USHG and investment partner Fosun, wanted to create a space that showcases New York, for New Yorkers— a comfortable gathering space so compelling that locals would make the 62-floor ascent. The idea was that the view, while striking, would be secondary to the relaxed atmosphere and world-class food.

Mucca partnered with Meyer and Fosun to create a visual identity that would lure gravity-bound city dwellers to a high floor of their Financial District skyscraper. The first part of that process was to create a strategic platform that would inform all our creative decisions. That guided our design thinking in developing an identity with soul and warmth, positioning the venue as an “oasis in the sky” for city dwellers, rather than a sightseeing destination for tourists.

Our deliverables included: Menus, Coasters, Check presenter, Business cards, Wayfinding signage, Environmental graphics, Website, Evite and Newsletter and Sales book and private dining sales kit

We were thrilled to use one of our favorite typefaces, Marian, by Commercial Type, for the identity. Chosen for its sophistication and approachability, it’s based on the skeleton of an early 19th Century Scotch Roman—just the kind of type you might find on an antique map of downtown Manhattan. A set of playful icons used on collateral, signage and digital applications, reference the sky-high location, and a postcard doubles as a paper plane. Other carefully considered details include a custom pressed penny gift token and a custom paperclip monogram, for an element of surprise and delight.