Studio Ethur Ethur blends Californian cool and Italian heritage in its look for Leo! Leo!’s gelato

Hailing from the historic city of Florence, Italy, Leo! Leo! is a testament to the enduring craft of gelato making. At its helm is founder Niccolo Lekai, who has been keeping alive a 500-year-old tradition on the sunny shores of California. After 10 years of crafting the perfect gelato, Lekai had the goal to evolve Leo! Leo! into an approachable, scalable brand without losing its Italian heritage or artisanal quality.

Enter Studio Ethur Ethur, a creative studio based in San Luis Obispo, California. Tasked with the rebrand, the team at Ethur Ethur weaved in elements of emotion, youth, and approachability, all while staying true to Leo! Leo!’s core commitment to support local economies. The team developed the brand’s identity, packaging, apparel, digital, and print collaterals, creating an evocative and relatable brand experience. The identity has been artfully crafted to straddle the vibrant cultures of Italy and America, transporting you to a nostalgic, sun-drenched summer in Florence – a nod to founder Niccolo Lekai’s childhood summers spent perfecting the art of gelato.

Their approach stemmed from the thorough study of the rich history of Italy’s gelato-making artisans, coupled with a youthful, energetic, and playful spirit. It is also a project of dualities, whereby the studio incorporated references to American culture and the region of California where Leo! Leo!’s gelato is made, alongside Italian ‘witticisms’ throughout the brand copy. “After all considerations,” explains Partner & Creative Director Hal Ethridge, “it resulted in a visual identity that brings together two regions, two time periods and  two cultures to celebrate one thing that everyone can agree with – a decadent, locally sourced gelato!”

The star of the visual language is the fun-filled typography, where the studio opted for a distilled, type-forward design direction to counteract the “heavily illustrated, multi-coloured competitors” in the “very crowded, and loud shelf space” in retailers.

A curvaceous custom letterform is paired with Tommi Sharp’s chunky display typeface Taters – an unmissable choice of type in a fittingly large size. This is joined by the playful, paper-cut Zufo by Andrei Robu Type and Hoefler&Co.’s Gotham for clerical and legal copy.

Matching the creamy sweetness of the ice creams themselves, the colour palette is led by a strawberry and vanilla duo that, alongside the cut-out style illustrations, elevates the look further.