Logo and branding for a french-inspired restaurant & café in St Louis.
Café la Vie is a french-inspired restaurant in Le Méridien, a Marriott Bonvoy Collection Hotel in St. Louis, MO. It transitions from cafe and coffee bar in the morning, to a relaxed restaurant and lounge in the evening. To capture the Café la Vie’s transition, I designed a visual system that makes a distinct transition from day to night by using a flexible color palette. The palette allows for a clear distinction from day to night, but also creates a consistency that keeps the brand feeling cohesive. I also use sun and moon imagery abstractly in a modern, minimalist way that also draws back to elevated art deco influences in St. Louis and is reflected in Café la Vie’s architecture, art, and interior design.
Café la Vie offers dishes highlighting European classics with local St. Louis flavors in a warm and inviting environment. I balanced an elevated European-inspired feeling with a fun approachability that makes customers feel welcome.
Rather than giving a visitor the typical experience that includes the same tourist attractions, Le Méridien has the goal to give visitors a unique experience closer to that of a long resident of a city that knows all of the “secret” gems. We took this idea and applied it to Cafe la Vie by using the idea and line “La Vie en Rose”, the title of a classic French song covered by infamous American Jazz musician, Louis Armstrong. This French song title translates to “Life in Rose-Colored Glasses”. One way we used this idea was to create a secret menu that could only be deciphered by a rose-colored lens.
