Goods produce a world dedicated to Italian culture for Norwegian Neapolitan pizza chain Mano

Having first debuted the identity in the summer of 2019, Oslo-based design studio Goods has continued to work with Norwegian pizza chain Mano alongside parent company Heydays and interior agency OMHU; furthering their initial brand and packaging work by designing the restaurant’s spaces as well as the cans for its beer. Mano’s Neapolitan pizzas are served by the metre, and in line with Italian tradition, their dough is hand-stretched and grilled in a gas oven. As a result, everything Goods’ have created is a nod to Italian culture – starting with the brand name itself. ‘Mano’ translates to ‘hand,’ which is represented in the identity through a cartoon-like illustration of the ‘Italian hand’ – a recognisable and fundamentally Italian gesture that is often used to add emphasis. Created by Samuel Nyholm, the hand mark acts as the starting point for a whole world of illustrations – all inspired by the cartoon style found within the pink Italian newspaper Gazzetta Dello Sport – which also informed Goods’ colour of choice. “The story of Mano is supposed to mimic a little Italian town where the naughty dog steals the pizzaiolo’s freshly made Neapolitan pizza, and the whole town chases him while the Italian police lady is sleeping on duty,” Goods explain of the illustration concept, which is shown in full across Mano’s pizza boxes. “Bonus story,” they add, “the rich banker figure is the character unique to the first Mano location, Stavanger, since it’s known as the oil capital of Norway, hence the ‘money pig.’”