> Marseille est une chanson!

With similar vibes to Beirut and a few other mediterranean metropoles, Marseille has nonetheless its own particular lifestyle... No wonder a lot of Lebanese feel at home there! Passing through for a couple of days before our journey to the Luberon, we've witnessed quite a dose of adventures ;-)
Watch for more...

> Archi-Walk in Badaro

One of the sexiest aspects of Beirut is how it varies so much from one neighborhood to the other, and despite our barbaric destruction of old heritage, you might still fall in love on a hidden street corner...
Follow me with Naji Assi, Architect & Professor, to discover Badaro's little gems:


If you liked the video, you can use this map, prepared by the Arab Center for Architecture, to go on your own little walk ;-)

Less is More JAUNE rebranding campaign

I know I always shared sneak peeks of my work before they went public but this time, given the ultra confidentiality i could not. I waited for the shops to open and the look book to be sent!
But now we can share it with the world:-)

As you know, Rectangle Jaune has been on the market for 28 years, strong with their high end quality DNA, they shifted to a smaller name, JAUNE, in order to reach more and go global.
To embrace their new design motto "Less is more", we decided to remove the pocket label and use only the yellow threads on the second button as signature:

Fun, right?
Also we brainstormed for weeks for the best concept to explain this uplifting and came up with these films, created by myself, directed by Ghassan Koteit and produced by The Filmhouse :



And this one starring Maya from Playing With Fashion:



In a nutshell, we are saying that while we are proud of our heritage, "change is the only constant"! So we simplified our approach to be more minimalist and enhance our essential qualities, which is in the current Zeitgeist...

Above a picture from the TRENDS wardrobe: new structures and patterns, with closer cuts.

On the blue background, a picture from the ICONS classic wardrobe.

And this last one is from the ACTIVE palette, with bold colors and nautical themes.

To celebrate the new branding and to present the collections into their perfect setting, BLEU design renovated our flagship boutiques. The elegant mix of rough wood and dark steel with bright yellow convey an atmosphere of boldness & warmth, portraying perfectly the style codes of the modern gentleman.

As you see, rebranding a landmark is not an easy step and it involves every possible aspect; for instance the website Jaune.me developed by ActiveWeb follows the same "Less is More" spirit:

Which is also conveyed in the publication:

This barely sums up the works did in every field to boost this launch, but more reports and posts are coming very soon so stay tuned! ~M

> Firenze Success Story: Mercato Centrale

Last month we visited Pitti Uomo in Firenze, and I wrote a post about the brands that caught our attention. However the visual and gastronomic explosion that marked us forever was ~ DRUM ROLL~... IL MERCATO CENTRALE!

(logo and identity by Almagreal, representing the central location of the mercato)

This Iron and Glass building was created in 1874 by Giuseppe Mengoni, who designed as well the famous Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in Milano. For its 140th birthday, Umberto Montano and Claudio Cardini gave this San Lorenzo Covered Market its glory, bringing people back to this vibrant city landmark, with traditional shops that give the artisans the center stage.

Following this idea, every booth is hosted by its star artisan, with his name and caricature illustration by Jonathan Calugi, who caught the character of each person so perfectly.

Here is a small animation by Simone Brillaleri of one artisan for example:

Amazing isn't it?

The food of course compeets by far with the most famous restaurants in Florence, not to mention that it's for a bargain! I had the best pasta and arancina tradizionale with a delicious Aperol Spritz, for around 20 euro...

I leave you now with a few pictures of the identity in the website, magazine, place etc...

Ecollo qua! Bravo a tutti, direttore, architetto, designer, animator, illustrator...good job!

Don't miss it if you're on a trip to Italy and i know a lot of you are planning to this summer...

UPDATE!!! Thanks to this post I've just discovered that the talented Lebanese Stephanie Richa worked with Jonathan Calugi on the identity during her internship in Firenze! BRAVISSIMI!

> HORECA 2015: the winners are...

For the 4th year in a row I took part in the Horeca Beirut Best Stand Jury, along with Rana Nasr, Malek Salamé and Alain Hochar, invited by the fabulous Randa Dammous!

The Categories for this year were: Best Stand, Best Branding, Best Mood & the famous Coup de Coeur. The Winners:

For Coup de Coeur: Delphine Gebran who designs F&B spaces, who demonstrated that emotion can be created simply with an idea, basic materials, lighting & passion!

For Best Branding: the refreshing Juice Up:

For Best Stand: Ksara, linear, classic and modern at the same time...

And finally, the best mood and ambiance were at Prunelle who invited 8eme Art for a jazzy jam session...

And a peek at the Jury (without Alain unfortunately) and the winners:

And the Trophee & Certificate courtesy of Juice Up :-)

Good luck and Bravo to all, see you next year...

> Scotland & other stories...

My summer was intense, so intense I did not post anything, sorry 'bout that!
SO to apologize, here's a mix-mix-schuffle of tidbits and a wee look on the Highlands!

It all started with a quick weekend in Paris where the highlights were a beautiful exhibit at La Pinacotheque, to see Tamara de Lempicka, the amazing art deco colorist...

&... other stories, which opened a few months ago; a lesson in retail, style, display and design:

Shifting on to more art deco in Glascow now, at the GSA (Glascow Scool of Arts) where we had a guided tour of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Building... Simply AMAZING.
Students are so lucky to live and learn in this space...
And we had a high tea at the Willow Tea Rooms, designed by Mackintosh as well. I simply love those Glascow fonts don't you?

And  as promised, a wee* look on the Highlands (Mull, Skye, Staffa, Tobermory, Oban, Inverary, the Lochs...) to finish and relish:

*Wee is the cutest little Scottish word, it actually means (and sounds!) "little".

Photos by myself and Ghassan Koteit. 

> HORECA 2013: Best Stand Competition

This year was HORECA's 20th anniversary and I had the pleasure and honor to be once again part of the jury of the 2nd Best Stand competition.
The members were the same as last year, but Alain Hochar (left) joined les 3 mousquetaires (left to right): Maya Metni (me!), Malek Salamé & Rana Nasr.

>I'll start with the small stand: it was a delight to see so many participants make the most of the little space and work with interesting materials or even a compilation of their own products, like MATEX-MABCO, who are providers of plastic containers for the F&B industry, our 3rd nominee in this category.

2nd nominee: Biomass, organic products, fresh & simple materials, enhanced merchandising:

And our winner, an absolute coup de coeur, Qanafar wine:

Sober presentation, simple yet nice & contrasted materials, beautiful display of wine ware, welcoming staff &... exquisite Lebanese wine!

>2nd category: Best Branded Stand

2nd prize, Barista, who captured well the sensual espresso mood:

3rd prize, Najjar, with among other products, Gio & Thea:

And our winner, Shawarmanji, where i couldn't even take a picture of the whole stand because there were so many people attracted by the beautiful branding (& smell ;-)):

> Last but not least, the best stand category:
3rd prize, Diageo for alcoholic beverages, with a "duplex" stand and even bouncers like in a real nightclub, we even had to prove we are a jury to get in ;-D

2nd prize, Cafe Abi Nasr who had a crossed ground plan with four corners, here's the Lebanese coffee side:

And the winner is, drum rollllll, ...  SOHAT water!

With a very subtle stand all in light, white and transparencies, displaying their new glass bottle, a future hit for sure:

And the souvenir picts with winners and organizers... 

Bravo to all, Mabrouk to Joumana & Randa Dammous for the 20 successful years, and good luck to all for next year!