shingo shimizu design & illustration

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Papa Franco!


Just completed this logo for a new line of ready-made Italian foods to be on supermarket shelves some time this year. My studio mate Matt Bilewicz, (yes, he's a brilliant Designer), hired me to add the 'Shimizu-ism!' (illustration touches) for the identity. To go with the 'seal of approval' look, we decided to go with imagery that was familiar. Most importantly it would have to represent tradition and quality.

The most important part of the process of designing for a client is of course, testing their project. We tried some suspicious looking bags of tomato sauce samples marked 'R&D' the other day, and I gotta say it was ridiculously delicious. It really has absolutely nothing to do with tasting this amazing Italian sauce for free. But really, it was quality I'm telling you. I will definitely post it here, once I hear of the product hitting the stores.

On a different note, last Sunday, with my girlfriend we had a craving for veal sandwiches at this Toronto gem of a mom & pop joint, "California Sandwiches". Yes so much of a gem that I actually haven't visited it in eight years. No reason. Just forgot really. I suppose it got lost in my cravings for Mexican tacos or Korean food all the time. But for a day in the park on a boiling hot summer day, this is exactly what I wanted. Anyhow, we discovered it was closed on Sundays, so we headed off down the street towards "Bitondo's" (below). The sandwiches hit the spot (only because we were starving), but no where near as tasty as California. The meat with was very little with too much breading. The best things about this place is the old school Cola fridge and table top Pac-man video game inside. So, if you're ever craving for whatever food in any given moment, go for the real thing. If you can't get it, avoid disappointment by going for something totally different.

Coming to think of it, tacos would have been great too!