Chef's Table by Bruce Lim |
Bruce Lim talked about his desire to teach others about the magic behind Filipino food. His passion to bring attention to our cuisine goes beyond his celebrity status. As he explained, it became apparent that all Bruce wanted was to share with others how a high-end meal can be put together with local products.
Bruce's desire to stay local and teach became the theme for the branding exercise that Eneri and Atalyer would start together.
Branding must be about the client, not about the talents of the designer. Brands must be created on the basis of a solid brand story and the history of, in this case, Bruce. Eneri emphasized to his colleagues in Atalyer that brands need to be created on a level of truth.
Upon discovering that Bruce's Father was in the business of making public school furniture, it became apparent that the design team would have the possibility and means to bring this brand exercise from the drawing board to the soldering machines and the tube-benders at Mr. Lim Sr.'s factory. It was clear that products coming from the public school furniture factory would speak more about the brand direction from the point-of-view of the Chef's personal story. This would achieve an important level of truth and history in the brand.
For Eneri and the Atalyer team, the process was becoming more exciting by the day.
Worldwide design trends called for a return to a high level of craftsmanship. Ever since the 2008 recession, locally-made products took the spotlight versus imported and mass-produced items. It was clear to the team that by having the Chef's Table furniture designed in the public school furniture factory would align the brand story with worldwide trends.
The Atalyer team, led by Industrial Designer Paolo Chavez made sure to identify the factory's current assets and technical capabilities. A line of furniture that would be suitable for manufacture in the Lim factory and which would hark back to the design language of the original Filipino public school furniture yet bring forth a unique perspective and interpretation was designed and prototyped.
This same exercise was repeated whenever the team had to address the key deliverables: the menu is made to resemble a report card, down to the stock paper chosen. There is no color finish or veneer edges on the tables, because there was never any on furniture in public schools. Pencil-stays were grooved into the tables, for wooden pencils - the give-away items.
By creating a public school-inspired brand for Chefs Table, Eneri Abillar and the Atalyer design team seek to bring back a level of innocence to the diners. A level of innocence, represented graphically in the collateral and physically through the furniture, that returns the users to a stage in their lives when it was all about learning new things. About seeing the world and everything around it with new eyes and fresh senses. About looking forward to a new lesson or a new experiment. About having open curiosity for the brave dishes that Chef Bruce Lim puts forth for all of us to discover the beauty of Filipino food.
What did Atalyer, thru the collaboration with Eneri Abillar, do for Chefs Table?
Logo design; outer signage;
menu design, layout & print; tabletop design (placemat, coasters, table napkins) & sourcing;
wayfinding;
uniforms;
basic marketing collaterals (take-away paper bags, calling cards, business envelopes and office forms);
email invitations;
flyers;
furniture design: tables, chairs & benches;
pencils as give-aways;
and even the valet-parking stubs!
