The Brunch Terrasse is a rather long name, but it is also a big cafe. In fact, it is among a few of its kind in Kouba, near Algiers, the capital city of Algeria. And this makes it interesting because Algiers has a long history of coffee houses, not only influenced by French colonization, but a uniquely Algerian tradition, thanks to its Phoenician, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, Barbary-pirate heritage.

TBT is envisioned as a place for people to gather, especially young people who prefer to eat late. The huge menu, covering everything from juice to steak and full-fledged brunches, is meant for generous moments with friends and family in a spacious, well-decorated ambience. There’s also a patio-like terrace out front that can accommodate pairs and quick-service customers.

So, the promoters of TBT wanted us to design a brand identity that would stand out from the usual cafe logos and designs. A premium-feel was a must, but without losing the casual charm of the place. The logo had to be very visible on signage through night and day. With a rather long name, this presented a peculiar typographic challenge: There was no chance for any of the usual solutions here.

Subsequently, the solution came in the form of Anisette by Jean François Porchez of Typofonderie. Its signature double-width capitals reference the Art Deco movement in France in the 1930s. Also, its dynamic qualities, with several possible variations in weight, width and arrangement of characters, made it suitable for diverse representations: from logo design to menu titles to business cards: all a bit different yet the same.

While the actually suggested colour scheme was dark green with beige, we think our variation, with dark green and pastel pink, is perhaps better suited for the cafe as it has a more youthful and playful vibe without losing due seriousness. This also helped make the in-store collateral concepts visually fresh, establishing points of familiarity and difference with the more popular green and gold scheme of premium cafes.