Some brands don’t need to be invented. They need to be felt. That’s Amore Cheesery already had the craft, the loyal following, and the unmistakable warmth of a family-run Italian deli. What they needed was a visual identity that could carry all of that into a high-end retail environment at Market Pavillion Chadstone Precinct, without losing a single degree of the warmth that made people love them in the first place.
A brand can be both iconic and limited. That’s Amore’s existing identity worked beautifully on supermarket shelves, but retail and hospitality demand something more. The new Chadstone location was stepping into an upscale shopping environment alongside polished, considered brands. The identity needed to rise to that context while staying unmistakably, genuinely Italian.
The deeper challenge was consistency. Signage, menu boards, packaging, in-store displays, digital assets: every touchpoint had to speak the same language, warmly and without contradiction.
Before a single sketch was made, I spent time at the flagship deli and café in Thomastown. The open kitchen, the handmade cheeses, the staff who greeted every customer like a neighbour. It felt less like a retail visit and more like arriving somewhere familiar. That atmosphere, the easy generosity of Southern Italian hospitality, became the creative foundation.
Three pillars shaped the direction: Tradition, Warmth and Craft. The logotype was custom-designed in a classic italic serif, honoring the brand’s heritage while giving it the polish a premium retail setting demands. The client’s signature blue was already deeply tied to their identity, so rather than replacing it, I repositioned it: used with more intention, more restraint, and paired with a broader system of illustration and graphic elements that gave the brand new range without losing recognition.
Bringing a brand to life inside a physical retail environment requires more than great design files. I worked closely with interior designers, property managers and developers to ensure the visual identity translated faithfully into the space itself. Signage, menu boards, display systems and packaging all needed to feel like one considered whole rather than a collection of individual executions.
The illustration suite became the connective tissue. Developed to work across every scale and surface, from a packaging label to a full wall graphic, these assets carried the storytelling weight of the brand and gave each touchpoint a sense of warmth and hand-crafted personality.
What emerged was an identity that felt both elevated and deeply human. Premium for Chadstone. Warm for everyone else.
Client
Giorgio Linguanti & Lara Cirianni
Collaborators
Architects: State of Play Studio
Property managers: Vicinity
Signage: GoodSign Co
Photography: Andrew Li
Disclaimer:
All images are the intellectual property of Courtney Kim Studio and are protected under applicable copyright laws. Unauthorized use, reproduction, or distribution is strictly prohibited.
