Brand Identity for a French Bakery in NYC

What: Studio Usher partnered with Pâtisserie Vanessa to guide its evolution from a wholesale business to a direct-to-consumer French bakery brand. Our work included brand strategy, messaging, and a custom visual identity complete with new logo and brand style guide, tailored for a luxury food startup. The brand launched with the opening of a charming brick-and-mortar location on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, designed to attract discerning customers and reflect the bakery’s Paris-meets-New York sensibility. The project combined retail design, food brand identity, and packaging aesthetics into one cohesive system infused with that distinct je ne sais quoi.

Goal: The goal was to create a brand identity that captured the unique balance at the heart of Vanessa’s baked goods: indulgent yet light, sophisticated yet approachable, French yet distinctly New York. We sought to design a visual system and tone of voice that communicated refinement without pretension—ensuring the experience felt special but never too sweet.

Notable: The identity was built to scale across signage, packaging, and future marketing ensuring Pâtisserie Vanessa could maintain consistency as it expanded its local presence. The store’s location on the Upper East Side has become a destination for elegant gifting and everyday indulgence, a testament to the power of thoughtful bakery branding and design for small business growth.