Saba

Expanding the brand world of a much loved Dublin based Thai and Vietnamese restaurant.

When Saba came to us, they already had a strong brand, however some of their communications needed a refresh. This relationship has grown over time and we have had the pleasure of working with Saba on countless projects big and small, not least the relocation of their flagship store from Clarendon Street to South William Street.

Building on the strengths

of the brand.

EXPANDING THE BRAND PALETTE

Initially, we worked on identifying which elements of the brand were strong and recognisable. Having done so we were able to retain those elements and work on creating a refreshed design style which could be used across all of the pieces we would subsequently be working on.

We added a graphic pattern device, inspired by decorative screens that were featured as an interior element in the restaurants, and reminiscent of Thai iconography.

South William Street: The new home of Saba

We worked along side Grainne Webber Architects marrying our signage to their interior vision for South William Street. A good example of this is the gold leaf hand painted lettering on the back wall mirror immediately visible as you enter the space.

One of the challenges we were tasked with addressing was the dark passage way to the bathrooms. We designed lit signage including a custom neon sign for the stairwell referencing Thai park signage that came up in our research. The monkeys and fish appear in the form of decorative wall paper in the bathrooms.

Big impact in a small space.

We were also able to have some fun with the bathroom directional signage, again referencing that public services signs that cropped up in our research. To give some wow factor to the narrow stairwell we created an illustration of head chef Tao in the style of hand painted Thai cinema posters, and rendered at scale on the stairwell wall.

What we did

  • Brand Collateral
  • Restaurant Signage
  • Packaging Design
  • Environmental Graphics
  • Wayfinding Signage

Awards

100 Archive

Saba Print & Signage
2011 Selection

Collaborators

Interior Architects
Grainne Webber Architects

Sign Painter
Andrew Greaves

Photography
Ste Murray

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