Standard Projects’ ever-changing identity for RE underpins the no-waste bar’s spontaneous mixology

Anything that was destined for the bin is used as a springboard of inspiration at RE, a cocktail bar in Sydney, that turns produce diverted from landfills into the most delicious drinks. This idea of turning waste into gold steers everything, which also means that the bar always needs to stay on its toes. The menu changes based on seasonal produce and what comes their way, “so they’re constantly reinventing the wheel when it comes to the cocktails they’re making and figuring out production,” says Adam Vella, Partner & Creative Director at Standard Projects, a Melbourne and Sydney-based design agency that was trusted to imagine the bar’s identity. The team’s solution is clever – a dynamic, ever-changing logo that sings of the way the bar embraces spontaneity, working with unexpected produce. The typographic logo constantly cycles through 14 different versions. “We looked on every corner of the internet to find type foundries that were making unconventional typefaces,” reveals Vella. “Selecting the final 14 was a process based on intuition; each of them needed to stand alone but also work as a family, and ultimately the client needed to be comfortable with each one as they would appear on everything from signage to merchandise.” Quietly supported by the brand typeface, Franklin Gothic, the expressive, unfixed wordmark gives the bar a punchy character, while always leaving a little room for surprise. The team used different versions across different spaces – “the client was laser-focused on changing perceptions of reuse, taking something unexpected (waste, essentially) and turning it into something beautiful,” Vella explains. “To capture this transformative idea, we used a double-sided approach, juxtaposing the conventional with the experimental.” For example, the lightbox sign on the façade of the bar welcomes customers with an emotive version of the wordmark, a squiggly ‘R’ and ‘E,’ but upon entering the space, they’re greeted with a more conventional version on the other side of the sign that speaks to the high-end bar experience and exceptional quality of the cocktails. “We repeated this idea on every surface, from menus and business cards to packaging,” adds Vella.