Responses by Blok Design

Background: Paying homage to famous Formula 1 racer Alberto Ascari, Erik Joyal and John Sinopoli’s Italian eatery Ascari is grounded in their mutual love of racing and food. The next step for a brand created eight years ago, we centered the identity refresh on continuous storytelling, bringing to life Alberto and his convergent passions.

Reasoning: Alberto Ascari and his background are so rich; it was essential to imbue his essence and love of life throughout the identity. We kept the original logo at the core of the brand. The refresh included a layered language from race car graphics, 1950’s inspired typography, and Alberto’s signature blue to interchange and interplay across a diverse set of applications. The color was effortlessly defined by Alberto’s own story. He superstitiously wore the same blue helmet every race, and it became a recognizable and defining characteristic.

Challenges: The scale of the project and brand itself. From small printed elements to large exterior signage, we made a system with flexibility and depth to offer Alberto’s narrative at every encounter.

Favorite details: The beauty of this project is in the shared journey of growth. We have had the pleasure of working with Erik and John on other projects like The Broadview and The Civic. It’s poetic to expand and contemporize the visual and verbal narrative of the brand that started it all, Ascari. Since Alberto’s story is real, there is a never-ending source of inspiration that keeps the brand in a state of becoming.

Visual influences: The logotype is custom, inspired by racecar lettering as well as hand-painted typography from the 1950’s found on the streets of Italy.

Anything new: We ran Alberto’s memorabilia through an old photocopier from the 1980’s, giving the graphics a texture you cannot fake. Getting it running and working was not only a learning process, but also a space of experimentation along with forgotten analog and tactile practices.

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