Wonka Bar

Wonka Bar is a prominent night club in Curitiba, Brazil, known for it's concerts, live shows, weekly jazz night, djs and other events. Wonka Bar is one of the primary cultural centers in a city of nearly 2 million people that's well known for it's cultural excellence. It's run by empresario Ieda Godoy (below left) who also runs the highly popular Mafalda Coffeeshop.

The brief was to rebrand the venue through a new identity, signage, menu, 3D installations and back lit panels to help them celebrate their 10 year grand reopening. Ieda wanted a design that was dark, playful and ludic.

Identity

The logo needed to transmit the brand's DNA, and function in a variety of print and digital applications. References for the mark included Tim Burton, German Abstract Expressionism, as well as other dark and magical sources. The images below are from 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,' one of the primary visual reference materials.

The identity mark is a stylized W, that works as a form of 3D portal leading into itself. The accompanying wordmark is a custom copperplate calligraphic solution, made to humanize the mark, and create a contrast at the same time.

Menu

The front of the menu (shown below left) was created as a template, so that the in house design team could modify the content with new items. The logo and floor plan are the consistent elements that bring character to the menu. The back of the menu (shown below right) displays the process, variations and development of the identity and wordmark.

Installations

A series of large installations were created to decorate the interior of the club for their 10 year anniversary. The sculptures were made using a hot wire cutting method from slabs of styrofoam that were then coated and spray painted. The back lit panels for the basement were created with digital printing and glued to sheets of semi opaque acrylic. The 'medallion' image was inspired by the traditional Chinese paper cut technique.

References

Process

Date completed: 2010
Client: Wonka Bar
Location: Curitiba, Brazil
Note: Diagonal mural by Firmorama Studio