Celebrity chef Matt Moran’s ARIA Restaurant Sydney launches new brand identity via Frost*

Celebrity chef Matt Moran’s two-hatted ARIA Restaurant Sydney has a new brand identity and visual language via Frost*.

Owing to its award-winning cuisine coupled with prime harbour-side location showcasing sweeping views of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, ARIA Restaurant has long been considered the “quintessential Sydney experience” and is the jewel in the MorSul Group crown. Defined by the integrity of its produce, sourced from the finest producers and prepared in a clean, simple way that allows the key ingredient to speak for itself, the ARIA Restaurant experience is made complete by the warm, friendly and genuine service offered by the top-tier front-of-house staff.

In the restaurant’s first brand overhaul since opening in 1999, Frost* aimed to create a mark which would support changes to the restaurant’s menu that reflect a shift in the fine-dining market, and draw in a younger and more diversified client, while retaining a sense of sophistication and timelessness.

Says Vince Frost, executive creative director at Frost*: “We wanted to re-create the idea of what fine dining means in Sydney. The Sydney dining scene has evolved and it’s less stuffy, much more about the ‘foodie-experience’, which dovetails perfectly with Matt’s mantra of ‘paddock to plate’. He is so passionate about great quality produce, where it comes and how it is served on a plate, which was very inspiring for us.”

Lead by creative director Ant Donovan, the team at Frost* developed a bespoke new identity, realised in a strong and minimal capitalised sans-serif type, reflecting ARIA’s new confident, clean and classic aesthetic. A variegated brand palette of metallic coppers speaks to the warm and friendly service ARIA is renowned for and references the natural landscape of the restaurant’s setting, as well as the provenance of the food. Art direction of photography juxtaposes the paddock with the plate. Natural textures and raw ingredients pair with images of the kitchen at work, along with the plated dish, drawing a link between the origins of the produce and revealing it’s journey from the producer to the diner.

Rolled out across signage, menus, business cards, gift certificates, tote bags, uniforms and a re-skinned website, the new identity and look and feel provides the MorSul Group with more ‘tools in the box’ to tell a richer brand story for ARIA Restaurant. The work aims to provide a variety of unique ways to communicate, without alienating existing clientele or compromising on its reputation for elegance and quality.

Peter Sullivan, restaurateur and co-owner of the MorSul Group, whose restaurants also include Chiswick and North Bondi Fish, says the brand and identity overhaul is important for ARIA Restaurant.

Says Sullivan: “Brand is critically important in fine dining, as it is in any consumer facing business. It’s a very competitive industry and Sydney can be fickle. Remaining true to the heart of your ethos whilst adapting to the demands of the market is vital. Ensuring your visual brand is in tune with your offer is an essential part of that process.”

Frost* has a long working relationship with Moran and Sullivan, creating identities for their MorSul and Chiswick brands. The agency has also worked extensively in this space with Four Seasons Hotels creating the brand for The Woods restaurant in their Sydney property and a number of other restaurant projects in the group’s Asian portfolio. Frost* is also embedded within the business of leading chef Steve Manfredi having worked on a range of restaurant and product brands, including the Espresso di Manfredi coffee range, for over a decade. The agency is currently working with Hamish Ingham, a rising star of the Sydney dining scene, on an overhaul of his Bar H restaurant in Surry Hills.