Hospitality / Retail / Elsternwick, Melbourne / 2015

Will’s Batch

Project Overview

  • Project Will’s Batch
  • Location Elsternwick, Melbourne
  • Year 2015
  • Category Hospitality / Retail

The client’s brand ethos of ‘wholesome ice cream handmade in small batches’ inspired the creation of a space where craftsmanship and attention to detail become a platform for whimsy and surprise. Subtle Art Deco references imbue the design with an old school analogue sensibility and interface, reinforcing the brand message.

The client’s brief sought to create a unique brand identity and a retail space underscoring the company’s handmade ethos. Our design imperative was to create a finely crafted, iconic store befitting the site’s high-visibility, corner location. The design proposal draws inspiration from established, late Art Deco motifs (horizontal banding/ datums, rounded edges, expressed horizontal lines) reinterpreted in a contemporary and functional manner. Marquee-style signage places the ‘flavour of the month’ on centre stage while underpinning the notion of analogue, old school methods.

The original entry to the store from the main street was reconfigured to allow multiple points of entry from the glazed long side elevation. This intervention optimises flow and control of patron spill-out, whilst highlighting the unhindered exposure into the store from the street, invigorating the immediate urban context. Custom-made branded awnings reinforce the store’s street presence.

These elements subtly and collectively reinforce the artisanal process of making ice cream; the notion that ‘handcrafted’ is as much about balance and attention to detail, as it is about pleasure, whimsy and unconventionality. The neutral colour palette also ensures the product in its 60 delicious hues always takes centre stage.

Ilker Tuncer
Director