BY Christian Palino

Which Brush is Mightier?

Let me start by acknowledging that I like to cook, but I’m a bit of a purist when it comes to tools in the kitchen — I don’t get into all the gadgets — I own one chef’s knife for my cutting needs, cook my bread in the oven and consider a Moka far superior to something like this. That being said, I still enjoy visiting shops like Sur La Table to see all the whiz-bang they have to offer. Sur La Table originally opened as a shop selling hard-to-find French kitchenware in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, but is now more akin to Starbucks than a Seattle indie joint.

The previous wordmark is set in Roger Excoffon’s Mistral, a script face that still manages to look fresh more than 50 years after its creation and, in the American context, a rather ownable wordmark. The update feels as vibrant as its predecessor — clearly a play out of Ale Paul’s genius book — but more common in today’s type landscape where brush-influenced scripts are flourishing. It’s certainly beautiful, with a bit more gracefulness than the original through its lighter brush feel and use of white space. And the deep purple helps contrast and legibility. All that said, I’m not sure if this is an improvement. The previous mark had a sense of originality, time and place while not looking dated, whereas the new mark is set in what is now a familiar and trendy style. Perhaps simply updating the color palette would have been enough.

\n\nLet me start by acknowledging that I like to cook, but I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to tools in the kitchen — I don't get into all the gadgets — I own one chef's knife for my cutting needs, cook my bread in the oven and consider a Moka far superior to something like this. That being said, I still enjoy visiting shops like Sur La Table to see all the whiz-bang they have to offer. Sur La Table originally opened as a shop selling hard-to-find French kitchenware in Seattle's Pike Place Market, but is now more akin to Starbucks than a Seattle indie joint.

Many thanks to our ADV @ UnderConsideration Partners