CHEESY by TBTBO

Cheesy

Brand strategy, Naming, Identity

GOAL

To create a restaurant brand at the junction of the gastro-emotional concepts of Georgia and Italy.

SOLUTION

A Southern-style approach to identity, brand strategy and positioning.

What happens if you mix the cuisines and cultures of Italy and Georgia?

Definitely, the result will be all about lust for life, heartfelt conversations and delicious food. It will be a Southern-style affair. This is how Cheesy was conceived — a modern restaurant for long feel-good feasts.

Italians and Georgians are experts in joie de vivre. If they want wine for lunch, they drink it. If they want delicious and energy-dense food, they eat it. If they socialize, they do it loudly, heartily and with hugs.

Soft skills and empathy have come to the forefront of our value system. Its means the world with whom you eat and how you do it. The chef, their team, the atmosphere they create, the interior of the venue — all these factors significantly improve our digestion and our loyalty to the location

That's why we created a restaurant where hedonism, cordiality and relaxation rule. It bridges two of the most palatable and substantial cuisines of two of the most hospitable and buoyant nations. The menu features bread, cheese and wine.

Residents of Southern countries are demanding toward pleasure and beauty. Our venue infests its guests with this zest. You appreciate the charisma of our waiters and sommeliers. You get a chance to participate in the life of our restaurant. It becomes much more for you than a place where you can grab a bite. It’s an integral component of your state of happiness.

Hence, the main message of our brand was formulated: "Joie de vivre and love for food, Southern-style."

Our brand positioning is based on the ideas of chillosophy and blissology. These are informal sciences about resting and living in love and pleasure. These are rather ironic philosophies at the junction of infinitely pressing self-development and rational hedonism.

Quaint images of popular Georgian and Italian actors and musicians helped us emphasize this irony in our identity. Their lively and emotionally charged faces from non-stage photos have become part of our signature style.

Our logo turned out to be incredibly graphic. It’s based on the image of cheese. It works wonders both in the full and in the short version, simultaneously referring to the trademark sofas inside the venue.

Interior

Might point at various attributes of enjoying life.

Photos of people who delight in the process of eating. They smile at other members of the company and they hug each other. They’re not shy of the fact that they might look imperfect at that moment.

Next to the names of the meals, there might be notes by different people (such as cooks and waiters). These notes can tell exciting stories about the dishes, just like in a family cookbook. Or, they might be simple comments.
The menu might be written in an informal language.
It’s acceptable to indicate how to eat various meals and what to combine them with to get the maximum pleasure.

Staff

The staff is dressed in bright clothes that externalize joie de vivre and creativity. Each team member can have their individual outfit as well as image and character — as if you’re not in a restaurant but at a feast in your friend’s house.

The employees can share the latest news with the guests and initiate casual conversations while pouring drinks and serving food.

Tidbits

Anti-fitness menu for making the most of one’s life.

It features many intriguing, appetizing dishes. People order them because they want to unwind and they’re not afraid of gaining weight.

Dinner with the cook. The latter shares curios facts about the meals, like a tea master at a tea ceremony

We archaized our restaurant's signboard so that it looks like an old, round street lamp, typical of Southern cities. Thanks to artificial scuffs, it looks as if it was 70 years old.

Now, a funny moment! There is a section with a modular grid in our brand book. Normally, it’s a technical part that enables designers to navigate the layout. To our surprise, a client bought into our brand idea and the proposed design so much that he created a carpet with the image of that modular grid. Now, this carpet is hanging on the wall of our restaurant and frequently stars in photos and stories.

A pinch of an artificial intelligence

Using the Dalle-2 neural network, we also generated photos of non-existent Georgian-Italian characters that turned out to be very emotional and fun. These are guys with great smiles, energetic gestures, and a lively gaze that catches your eye.

Such photos can be used in branding, communication with guests, and in unexpected places to add a touch of liveliness and irony to the restaurant. This approach also allows brand owners to sidestep any future issues with photo shoots and copyright, as the characters are fictional and don't exist in the real world.

This text, by the way, is a result of the ChatGPT neural network.

Summary

Client
Сheese

Industry
Hospitality
Restaurants

Services
Brand strategy
Naming
Identity

Partners
Robert Dertsyan
Alexey Evdokimov

Team
Daria Gorokhova
Larisa Gryazeva
Dmitry Muraviev
Masha Knop

2022

Instagram
Behance

Projects
Agency
Our approach
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