Branding for italian restaurant
Vona is more than just an Italian restaurant. It’s a space where tradition and modernity come together: on the plate, in the atmosphere, and throughout the experience. Every detail has been carefully considered to create an ambiance that blends warmth, freshness, and sophistication. The menu combines Italian culinary classics with original creations, the drinks are designed to surprise, and the space invites guests to gather, share stories, and create lasting memories.
Born from the evolution of a former restaurant, Vona marks a new chapter, more mature, ambitious, and aligned with the goal of offering a contemporary and remarkable gastronomic experience. It’s a brand that carries, in everything it does, the desire to transform each visit into a sensorial and emotional journey, where people come to eat, celebrate, and make memories.
Our goal with the project
This project emerged from the need to accompany a moment of transformation: the transition from the Pepo restaurant to a new space—larger, better structured, and aligned with its growth. This change required not just a new name but a complete brand repositioning: verbal, visual, and strategic to reflect this evolution while preserving its essence.
Challenge Summary: The challenge was to build a new brand that could reflect the business’s maturity and its more refined culinary proposal. More than creating a new brand, it was essential to design a living brand, one that communicates the balance between tradition and innovation, and that manifests in every detail of the customer journey.
The project also involved developing a brand experience logic capable of transforming every touchpoint, from booking to service, from the menu to delivery, into a reflection of Vona’s core promise: to surprise, to welcome, and to create memories.
Insight and Strategy
The starting point was understanding that Vona is a place where tradition and modernity meet: not only in the food, but in the ambiance, the service, and the communication. The brand’s proposal stems from this balance, combining the classic flavors of Italian cuisine with creative reinterpretations by chef Peu Mesquita, and a hospitality approach that puts people at the center of the experience.
The strategy is built on three essential pillars: to be fresh and surprising, offering novelty without losing authenticity; to be warm and approachable, with communication and service rooted in care and attentiveness; and to be sophisticated without stiffness, bringing elegance and lightness to every touchpoint. These principles run across all areas of the brand.
Naming - Vona Ristorante
The naming process was a core part of the project. We sought a short, memorable name with an Italian-sounding tone that could convey modernity, sophistication, and versatility. Vona emerged from a process of simplification and stylization.
Verbal Identity
Vona’s voice is welcoming and effortlessly casual. It speaks with a smile, calls people by their names, builds bonds, and turns interactions into memories. The tone is friendly, engaging and vibrant, always striking the right balance between lightness and refinement.
The brand’s language includes words and expressions that evoke discovery, affection, excellence, and delight. The messaging is clear, elegant and spontaneous, avoiding formality while maintaining care and respect in every communication.
Visual Identity
The visual identity reflects the same balance that underpins the entire strategy. The color palette combines vibrant hues, such as red, salmon, and lemon yellow, with solid, sophisticated tones like moss green and off-white. This contrast conveys a brand that is at once fresh, elegant, and inviting.
The typography blends clean, modern, and lightweight forms, creating a visual system that expresses sophistication without rigidity. Graphic elements inspired by the restaurant’s physical architecture, like windows and linear structures, add cohesion to the visual system, serving as frames that highlight both content and captured moments.
Customer Experience - Italian restaurant that blends the classic and the modern
The experience module was essential to ensuring that Vona delivers on the promise its brand communicates. Every touchpoint in the journey was designed to inspire delight.
The experience begins with the reservation, featuring personalized welcome messages, and continues through the attentive, warm, and thoughtful service. The brand comes to life in gestures like welcome treats, tableside dish finishing, signature drink pairings, and curated moments that foster interaction and memory-making.
Service plays a fundamental role in this construction. Bright, attentive, and present, the team doesn’t just serve: they actively participate in the experience, building connections and reinforcing a sense of belonging.
Branding, naming and visual identity: Motora
Strategic Direction: Júlia Lago, Monique Lemos
Art Direction: Júlia Lago
Strategy and writing: Júlia Lago, Monique Lemos, Isabele Santos
Designers: Júlia Lago, Julia Sales, Laís Fonseca, Maria Stéfanni Carvalho, Luize Araújo
Vona Team: Barbara Queiroz, Rafaela Bandeira, Peu Mesquita.
Photography: Elder Almeida
Vona Team: Barbara Queiroz, Rafaela Bandeira, Peu Mesquita.
Photography: Elder Almeida
