New brand identity for French bakery La Talemelerie pays tribute to modern craft.
La Talemelerie is a collection of eight bakeries in the Rhône-Alpes region of France, a country where bread is king. The objective of our redesign was to address a key misperception — because there is more than one bakery, clients tended to think the brand was a chain, and therefore more industrial than artisanal. The reality is the opposite, as all the breads and pastries are handmade with only the finest quality ingredients.
The cause of misperception was two-fold: 1. Nobody understood the name. 2. The previous identity was sending the wrong signals — the opposite of craft codes.
So, we defined one clear objective to the redesign: to explain the name to express the craft.
The name is a rare and precious one, derived from Old French which was used in the Middle Ages. La Talemelerie means bakery, created by juxtaposing two words from handcrafting movements: kneading and mixing. With the name, a story was born: La Talemelerie’s raison d’être is to perpetuate today the handcrafting actions from the past, bringing quality bread’s tradition to life.
To reestablish the truth, the story became the identity on some key applications, such as their shopping bag. We recommended that they move from the original bright orange to an earthier terracotta color to keep the heat and convey the craft. On all paper bags, photographs of actions of handmaking the bread were printed in a brown sepia color.
The guidelines ensure the consistency and power of the new emblem that proudly commits the in-house teams to their mission of serving tradition.
WHY APPLE IS NOT SELLING APPLES?
The Power of Branding starts with the Power of Naming.
If you took the time to listen to our short video about naming, you already know the difference between Function and Emotion. Let’s recap:
You can map any name according to two axes: Function and Emotion, and position the name to the degree that Function and Emotion are inherent or need to be acquired.
Function says what you do, and Emotion builds your image.
What you are not must be acquired over time to get a clear and engaging identity.
Names with both inner Function and Emotion offer the best trade-off, whereas names which are neither Emotional nor Functional need to both explain what they do, and acquire some Emotion to engage.
This brand name model calls for different investment levels: names with inherent Function are easy to understand from the very start but may be less ownable over time.
On the opposite side, names with inherent Emotion are less clear at the start (Apple needed to explain they sell computers not apples) but over time stand for something unique. This is why Steve Jobs made the decision to name his company after a fruit and not, International Business Machines (not available anyway).
Fruits inspire tech, by the way, if you simply think of the names born this way, like Blackberry, Orange or Lime. Apple is obviously in pole position in this naming race since it was the first company to make such a creative choice and since they pick up the best fruit, the “forbidden fruit,” and a myth on its own.
Naming at the speed of culture
So, the key insight when looking for an Emotion-driven name is that culture pays off – think of the ancient Greek name of victory that inspired Nike, or the Greek god Hermès for the French luxury brand. However, even if names are supposed to last, they are born in a specific period of time, and subject to the Zeitgeist. Naming at the speed of culture is a good mantra if we talk about sound culture, not fads. If we recognize the power of naming as the first native brand communication, then surely every entrepreneur should search for a unique, original name, remembering Salvador Dali’s quote: “The first man who has drawn a woman with a fish tail was a poet. The second one was an idiot.”
So, the weakest choice for a new name (and a marketing mistake) is always to imitate. The law does not differ, as you cannot legally register a brand name if someone has already registered the same. That liberates creativity and enables entrepreneurs to disrupt their industry if they wish.
Off-White, the fashion brand mentioned in the video, is a good example of Zeitgeist, alongside Mama Shelter in the hospitality category.
One message may hide another
If the name is the first native brand communication, let’s keep in mind that a communication cannot work unless it has a meaning, even a subliminal one. By subliminal, we mean hidden in the word but not in the phonetics. One message may hide another.
If I am referring to the cosmetic brand Clinique, you understand the concept of a serious, “clinical” brand, but unconsciously, your brain also recognizes ‘clean’. So, you get two messages for the investment of one. What for? The second message comes to strengthen the first one. Clinique has indeed built its cosmetic reputation thanks to its 3-step routine (first Cleanse, then Exfoliate and last Moisturize). So yes, one message may hide another. The Body in The Body Shop Brand refers to three distinct concepts: the individual body, the collective body (the diplomatic corps) and the Earth body, Gaïa – what a great start for a brand platform. And last, if your brand name is a patronymic name such as Dior – made of Dieu and Or (God and Gold in French), then the doors of imagination are wide open…
The power of branding starts with the power of naming.
Entrepreneurs – mind the name!
HOW TO TRANSFORM A PRODUCT INTO A COOL BRAND
New identity for DTC Brand Bloon.
Bloon is the young French DTC brand that sells an innovative range of stylish seats for the home and office. Since “sitting is the new smoking” according to US medical research, the founders came up with a very smart innovation: a sitting ball chair. The round shape enables anyone to sit in motion, which is excellent for the back. With the rise of remote work, the Bloon seat is the perfect 2-in-1 solution for the home office as it looks good and makes you feel good!
The challenge for our agency was to create the right brand strategy and identity bridging two worlds: the world of interior design and the world of well-being. To connect them successfully, we recommended to our client to adopt a brand platform, outlining in clear and simple terms, what the brand should claim and why. Successful DTC operators understand that DTC is not a business model, but a channel implying editorial activity.
So, we came up with the overarching concept of Flow – the idea of energy circulating in the body, strengthening the back, and stimulating the mind. Then the brand platform we crafted articulated the promise of Flow with ten strong arguments in order to inspire the brand editorial content across all (social) media.
In the new logo we designed, you can feel the circulation of energy among the letters as they are all interconnected. The font is both round and sharp, clean and cool, in black and white with no frills. Its simplicity and beauty allow for scaling the logo according to applications: when enlarged, the sign becomes the object – a well-designed one.
The overall digital identity and lay-out brings ‘organic’ shapes without sharp angles while the gradient background colors create a sense of energy.
To illustrate the concept of flow and the circulation of energy in more visible terms, we created a graphic device around the body, echoing the color of the seat.
When delivered to the customer, the packaging reveals the brand character and starts the conversation in a friendly, yet engaging tone.
Yes, the sitting revolution starts at home!
