A Summer Day Cafe

a summer day cafe

This ideal summer place is spacious, beautiful, [and] simple… with blue skies and blue waters that are only fleetingly crossed by rain and clouds. Its simple but invitingly furnished cottages are filled with a soft reflected light, and the fellow vacationers encountered from time to time are young and attractive. Many of the photographs in this show will be familiar to longtime admirers of Meyerowitz's work, but the new dawn-to-dusk arrangement brings into clearer focus the idyllic vision that in the past has enabled Meyerowitz to transform even a modern city into a colorful landscape of dream and fantasy. —Gene Thornton’s review for the New York Times, of Joel Meyerowitz’ 1985 exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum

A Summer Day Café was conceived as a tangible ode to the perfect summer. Responding and reacting to photographer Joel Meyerowitz’s iconic photo book, A Summer’s Day, we designed the restaurant, and used visual and tactile elements to provoke a halcyon nostalgia for the sun and the sea.

We toyed with bright beach colors, whimsical yet modern typefaces and playful line illustrations to tell the story of a carefree summer by the Atlantic coast. Paying attention to the way time passes while on vacation, we designed collateral that evolves throughout the day, from a cheerful disposition at breakfast and lunch, to a sumptuous atmosphere at night.

To bring to life a sense of being by the sea, we applied nautically-inspired details and finishes in the interiors: wood finishes and chrome, contrasted against fisherman’s rattan. Many of the details were specially customized for the space and produced in Mexico, including the booths, the lamps and the exposed wood counter.

In collaboration with Matt Abramcyk & Michael Oliver’s.
Photos by Adrianna Glaviano.