VILLA BAGATELLE
We have been working with the Bagatelle Budapest group since the opening of their first unit, Villa Bagatelle, in 2010. Since then, the company has opened new units, giving us the opportunity to collaborate on multiple projects and later we carried out the reorganization of these brands into an umbrella brand and sub-brands. As part of the process, the branding of the café and restaurant, originally opened as the first unit in 2010, has also been renewed.
As part of the group’s comprehensive rebranding, the square became the focal point of the visual identity. As the villa and the bistro are only accessible via stairs, this element is symbolically represented in the identity. The previous purple hue has been replaced with a more refined, muted shade across promotional and merchandising materials.
The building, well-known both in the neighborhood and among the target audience, is subtly referenced in select design elements. However, the signage and other branding components allude to the villa solely through the depiction of three squares arranged as a stylized staircase.
The staircase motif, formed by three squares, is equally effective on branding elements used within the building, where guests are fully aware of their location, making the full logo unnecessary—such as on menus.
When designing the menus and drink lists, we aimed for elegance and refined simplicity.
While the three squares are subtle rather than dominant on most on-site branding elements, items that leave the location—such as takeaway paper bags—are designed to be striking, attention-grabbing, and unmistakable compared to the packaging of other nearby businesses.
Since Villa Bagatelle is part of the Bagatelle Budapest group, it does not have a standalone website. Instead, it is featured alongside the group’s other units on the corporate website, where each entity is distinguished by a unique color—Villa Bagatelle is represented in purple, Brót in brown, and Gardenhouse in a soft green hue.
For the social media posts, we proposed several creative ways to incorporate the staircase motif. This approach allows for the elegant and consistent presentation of both textual and photographic content, in both color and black-and-white formats. As a result, the posts maintain a cohesive and sophisticated appearance, with the branding remaining subtle and unobtrusive.
The group also includes two other establishments: in the visual identity of Bagatelle Gardenhouse, the squares extend into the cypress trees rising in the boutique hotel's garden, while at Brót by Villa Bagatelle, the square playfully appears in the accent of the name. Within the group's visual identity (below), the square marks the center of the letter "B."
