Casino Beach Bar & Grille
Brand identity, signage and collateral for Casino Beach Bar & Grille, at the foot of the Pensacola Beach pier. The bar is named for the 1931 Casino resort that stood on the same site, and the identity is drawn from its history.
Overview
Casino Beach Bar & Grille sits at the foot of the Pensacola Beach pier, on the site of the original Casino that gave the beach its name. We researched that history before drawing anything, so the identity would belong to the place it is named for rather than to beachfront bars in general.
The word "Casino" on a Florida beach invites the wrong read: gambling, neon, kitsch. The name actually points to a 1931 restaurant and resort that stood on the same spot, the first attraction you could drive to over the new Pensacola Bay Bridge and the town's gathering place until it was demolished in 1972. The identity had to reach back to that without becoming period pastiche, and hold up across signage, menus, merchandise, and a building facing the Gulf.
The mark is a modern CB monogram with a second C hidden in its negative space, an abstract nod to the ornate serif flourish on the original Casino sign. Five dots ride the center stroke, standing for the pilings under the pier and for Pensacola's nickname, the City of Five Flags. League Gothic, an American face from the early 1900s, echoes old Pensacola Beach signage in the wordmark, with a stout Gotham subhead bridging the vintage type and the contemporary mark. A breezy Maui Blue and a deep navy anchor the palette.
Services
- Brand Identity
- Logo Design
- Signage
- Environmental Graphics
- Print Design
- Art Direction
An identity for a bar at the foot of the Pensacola Beach pier, drawn from the history of the site it stands on.
The Mark
A CB monogram with a second C concealed in the negative space, and five dots along the center stroke for the pilings beneath the pier and the five flags Pensacola has flown.
Borrowed from the Original Sign
That hidden C is an abstracted throwback to the ornate serif flourish on the C of the original Casino sign, a detail most visitors will never consciously notice. Which is rather the point.
Rooted in the Site
Pensacola's main beach has been called Casino Beach since 1931, when the original Casino opened at the foot of a new pier. Not a gambling hall but a restaurant, resort, and activity center, it drew locals and tourists alike until it was demolished in 1972. The founders built on that same site, so the name chose itself.
Photo credit: pensacolabeach.com
On the Building
Illuminated signage at dusk, framed by palms. The mark at the scale it was designed to survive.
Photo credit: floridapanhandle.com
Across the Kit
The identity carries through stationery, business cards, signage, posters, apparel, and merchandise.
Photo credit: Casino Beach Bar
