Baianí Chocolates

Bahia-based Baiani produces “tree to bar” chocolate: the same producers take care of everything, from the cocoa planting to the shaping of the bars. We made the first batch of chocolate packaging and recently repositioned the brand for its new phase.

The main goals were to use packaging to emphasize product quality: to show tradition carried by Bahia; and to create a versatile system to accommodate several product lines.

The typographic puzzle of the packaging had to be well balanced to create this system, and the fonts needed to express the brand’s personality at the same time.

Montecatini and Italian Plate No2 are paired, with high scale contrast. Interestingly, both typefaces have Italian inspiration but they fit perfectly in a Brazil-inspired product. In typographic selection, we can always embrace the origin of the fonts or play with it. In the case of Baiani, the historical DNA of the type was used not to simulate a location, but to create a sense of tradition and cultural heritage. In addition to these two, the quirky and unmistakable figures of Bely Display highlight the cocoa percentage – key purchase decision information.

This project also aims to show in practice “the value of multi-typographic design”, a famous Bethany Heck article on how to deploy multiple typefaces in a graphic design project. The chocolate bar lettering and Baianí logo was custom designed at Plau.

Creative direction by Rodrigo Saiani. Design direction by Ana Laura Ferraz. The packaging was designed by Aline Caruso, Ana Laura Ferraz, Carlos Mignot, Gabriel Menezes, Rodrigo Saiani, and Valter Costa, with graphic designers Felipe Casaprima, Flora de Carvalho, Gabriela Fiks, Gabriel Menezes, and Lucas Campoi.