Discover the branding and packaging design of Di Ligúria, a Brazilian pizzeria, blending Italian heritage with Brazilian charm.

When two Brazilian entrepreneurs with Italian heritage set out to create Di Ligúria, a pizzeria in Belo Horizonte, they wanted more than just a menu of pizzas. They sought a brand that paid homage to the flavors, traditions, and warmth of Italian culture while embodying the lively spirit of Brazilian dining. Designer Danilo Akan took on this challenge, developing a branding and packaging design that bridges these cultural elements seamlessly.

Di Ligúria’s brand identity is grounded in a love for Italian cuisine, inspired by the founders’ Genoese roots and the culinary culture of the Liguria region. Akan crafted a visual concept that honors this Italian foundation while infusing a relaxed Brazilian vibe. The name “Di Ligúria” itself is a tribute to Italy’s Liguria region, signaling an immediate connection to Italian authenticity.

Akan’s design approach captures this dual identity, focusing on simplicity, elegance, and a playful touch. Using negative space and bold typographic elements, Akan brings the essence of Italian tradition forward, yet retains a fresh, contemporary look that appeals to a wide audience. His design balances modern aesthetics with nostalgic elements of Italian dining, creating a memorable brand that invites customers to savor the Italian experience.

The most striking element of Di Ligúria’s brand identity is its innovative typography. Akan developed a typographic style that incorporates subtle nods to pizza and pasta, the core offerings of Di Ligúria. By using negative space within the letterforms, particularly in the letter “G,” Akan brings visual references to pizza slices and pasta strands. This clever use of negative space allows the brand to visually communicate its primary products in an understated yet effective way.

The logo’s typeface is both modern and classic, giving a nod to Italian design’s timeless elegance. This typographic style doesn’t just serve as a brand marker but becomes an integral part of the visual experience, subtly reinforcing the restaurant’s Italian roots while remaining approachable.

Packaging that Enhances the Experience

In addition to branding, the packaging design plays a significant role in delivering Di Ligúria’s identity. Packaging is designed not just for functionality but as an extension of the dining experience. By integrating graphic patterns inspired by Italian motifs, Akan’s design makes every pizza box, pasta container, and salad package an experience in itself.

The patterns, echoing Italian ceramic tiles and Mediterranean styles, contribute to the visual storytelling of Di Ligúria. They evoke the charm of Italy and the idea of gathering around a table with family and friends. With packaging that feels thoughtful and distinctive, customers are reminded of the quality and heritage behind each meal.

From the moment a customer sees the logo to when they unbox a fresh pizza, Di Ligúria’s branding and packaging tell a story. Each design choice reflects the founders’ desire to create a brand that goes beyond fast food and into a cultural experience, filled with Italian warmth and Brazilian vitality. Akan’s thoughtful use of typography, graphic patterns, and packaging demonstrates how design can capture a brand’s essence and elevate the customer’s experience.

For anyone looking to explore Akan’s creative process and Di Ligúria’s full brand story, more details are available on his website.

Di Ligúria’s branding and packaging design provide an excellent example of how design can connect cultural roots with a fresh perspective. Akan’s work successfully weaves Italian traditions into a Brazilian setting, delivering a design that’s as inviting as the food it represents.

Branding and visual identity artifacts

Discover how TRÜF’s “Weird Fishes” splash screen for Adobe Illustrator 2025 celebrates creativity with vibrant, minimalist illustration.

The Adobe Illustrator 2025 splash screen opens with a statement: creativity meets minimalism. Designed by TRÜF Studio, the “Weird Fishes” artwork that greets users embodies Adobe’s tools while making an instant visual impact. This splash screen not only excites users about the app but also showcases Illustrator’s dynamic possibilities, creating a memorable start to the creative process. Here’s a look at the creative vision, tools, and collaboration behind this unique splash screen update.

“Weird Fishes”: A Showcase of Creative Tools

TRÜF’s “Weird Fishes” centers on playfully stylized fish, created using Adobe Illustrator’s updated typography and 3D tools, which highlight the 2025 release’s expanded capabilities. This splash screen is a celebration of how Illustrator can bring out unique textures, gradients, and typographic designs, making it feel like a blend of traditional and digital artistry. The design follows Adam G’s distinctive style—minimal yet quirky, with each element purposefully crafted to show off Adobe’s creative potential.

The splash screen, as Adobe intended, isn’t just a loading screen. It’s a reminder of what Illustrator users can “Dream Up.” As Alex Fernald and Gleren Meneghin, Adobe’s staff designers, emphasized, the splash screens are not only entry points into the app but connections to Adobe’s creative community. They bring in commissioned art, linking Illustrator users to other creators while inviting exploration of the software’s capabilities.

Balancing Art and Function in the Design

This splash screen’s journey began the old-fashioned way—on paper. This initial sketching phase gave TRÜF the freedom to experiment with the composition, exploring the balance of shapes and lines. Once refined, the concept moved into Illustrator, where TRÜF fully explored the software’s features to enhance the digital version. In a brief, 90-second process video, TRÜF showcased their workflow from sketch to the finished splash screen, a rare peek into how minimalist, impactful design comes together.

A User-Centric Approach to Illustration

Adobe’s splash screens, including “Weird Fishes,” are a result of ongoing feedback from users. Through surveys sent to product teams, Adobe designers Alex and Gleren learned the nuances that users valued in the loading screen—like minimal launch delays and artist recognition. This feedback shaped the design, ensuring the new splash screens would spotlight the artist while maintaining the program’s efficiency.

To make the splash screen visually immersive, Adobe made adjustments based on past feedback. The artwork was enlarged, and the artist’s name appears in a larger, bold typeface, creating a clearer hierarchy that celebrates both the art and artist. As the Adobe Spectrum design system evolved, so did the splash screens, aligning with modern standards while preserving Adobe’s commitment to showcasing diverse creative voices.

Reflecting Adobe’s Evolution with Modern Minimalism

Historically, Illustrator splash screens have evolved alongside the Adobe brand. From early versions in the 1980s, featuring iconic art references, to today’s community-focused pieces, these screens highlight a shift from static visuals to dynamic creative introductions. Adobe’s recent redesign, led by Fernald and Meneghin, reimagined this format to center both the artist and the Adobe brand, using clean type and colors while expanding the visual space for the artwork. This shift reaffirms Adobe’s mission to foster connections within its creative ecosystem.

The splash screens across Adobe products are meant to offer a consistent brand experience, but each one also tells a unique story, showcasing the latest in illustration and design through collaboration with Studio team artists. Adobe’s team expanded the artwork’s size, adjusting its specs back to 2019 dimensions to create a more immersive user experience. The Adobe wordmark in red stands beside the product name in black, emphasizing the connection between Adobe and its creative community.

The Legacy and Future of Adobe Splash Screens

“What’s next?” is a question Adobe’s designers are always answering. With the 2025 Illustrator splash screen’s debut at Adobe MAX 2024, Adobe introduced the latest evolution in Creative Cloud. These splash screens remain essential touchpoints, showcasing new work, enhancing user experience, and connecting each user to Adobe’s creative network.

TRÜF’s “Weird Fishes” invites Illustrator users to think beyond the ordinary. It’s a nod to the creative possibilities the software enables, a tribute to digital and analog techniques, and a reminder that every creative journey begins with opening Adobe Illustrator.

This splash screen illustration is a subtle invitation for creatives to make the most of Illustrator’s tools and capabilities, setting the stage for inspired design from the moment they open the app.

Illustration artifacts

Pillow manufactured by Adobe. Photo courtesy of Adobe

Learn how BUCK redefined branding and visual identity for GitHub Universe ’24 with monumental design inspired by code.

The annual GitHub Universe event is a celebration of innovation, bringing together some of the brightest minds in software development. This year, GitHub partnered with BUCK, a renowned global creative company, to reimagine the event’s visual identity. Inspired by the theme “The World’s Fair of Software,” BUCK transformed GitHub Universe ’24 into a visually immersive experience that blended the past and future of software culture. Here’s a look at how this collaboration pushed the boundaries of branding and visual identity.

The Creative Vision: Merging Tradition and Progress

GitHub Universe ‘24 marked a milestone as the event’s tenth edition. This special occasion called for a branding overhaul that both paid homage to GitHub’s legacy and celebrated the event’s ongoing evolution. BUCK’s approach was rooted in capturing the spirit of World’s Fairs, where innovation and collaboration take center stage. Ward Graumans, BUCK’s Creative Director, emphasized their intent: “We aimed to create a look that celebrates this milestone while pushing the brand forward.”

The visual system developed by BUCK didn’t just rehash previous designs. Instead, it evolved into a toolkit that incorporated new elements while staying true to GitHub’s core identity. Central to the branding were what BUCK called “Monuments of Progress.” These unique structures were a reinterpretation of their prior 2D shape library, elevated to represent key GitHub values. Each monument carried icons, mascots, and insider references from the developer community, merging playful aesthetics with thoughtful design.

Key Elements of the Visual Identity

BUCK crafted a comprehensive design system that tied together various aspects of GitHub’s event branding. The system integrated fresh color palettes, new typography, and updated logos, all influenced by the visual language of coding. The Monuments of Progress became the standout feature, serving both as iconic standalone pieces and as the basis for hero visuals. This creative concept was not just about aesthetics; it reinforced the event’s narrative, with each visual element acting as a beacon of innovation.

Beyond static design, BUCK brought these monuments to life through animations and dynamic visuals. They created a suite of digital assets, from social media content to an introductory film that illuminated the event stages. This multimedia approach ensured that GitHub Universe ’24 had a cohesive yet lively visual identity, both online and in person.

Collaboration and Execution

The development of this branding system was a collaborative effort between BUCK, GitHub’s in-house design studio, event producers, and external partners. The process involved tight communication and shared creative insights. According to Adam Walden, VP of Brand and Corporate Marketing at GitHub, “BUCK continues to bring taste, craft, story, and incredible attention to detail to everything we do together.” This close-knit collaboration resulted in a unified event experience that resonated across different platforms.

The team at BUCK didn’t just stop at creating a one-off design for the event. Instead, they developed a branding system with longevity, allowing GitHub to use these assets beyond Universe ’24. This evergreen toolkit ensures a lasting impact on GitHub’s branding efforts, providing flexibility for future campaigns and event rollouts.

Impact and Legacy

GitHub Universe ’24’s branding is more than a visual facelift; it’s an invitation to engage and explore. By drawing from coding elements and honoring the developer community, BUCK and GitHub have created a design system that feels both cutting-edge and familiar. The Monuments of Progress symbolize GitHub’s role as a hub of innovation, while the refined color schemes and typography elevate the brand’s visual language.

This collaboration sets a new standard for event branding in the tech industry. BUCK’s creative solutions not only reflect GitHub’s ethos but also celebrate the people and projects that make the developer ecosystem thrive. It’s a testament to the power of thoughtful design and the impact of a strong, cohesive visual identity.

The reimagined visual identity for GitHub Universe ’24 exemplifies how branding can serve as a narrative tool. BUCK’s designs invite viewers to think of software development not just as code, but as a world full of creativity and progress. As GitHub continues to grow, this branding system will be a cornerstone of its visual storytelling, inspiring developers and designers alike.

GitHub Universe ’24, with its bold and vibrant identity, proves that a well-crafted brand can amplify the spirit of an event. BUCK’s collaboration with GitHub has set a high bar, showing how design, when rooted in community and culture, can make an event feel like a true celebration of innovation.

Branding and visual identity artifacts

About GitHub

GitHub is the most widely adopted Copilot-powered developer platform to build, scale, and deliver secure software. Over 100 million developers, including more than 90% of the Fortune 100 companies, use GitHub to collaborate and more than 77,000 organizations have adopted GitHub Copilot.

About BUCK

BUCK is a global creative company that combines design, technology, and storytelling to create compelling experiences for brands. Founded in 2004, BUCK has built a reputation for outstanding craftsmanship and innovation through collaboration with a wide range of clients across the cultural and technology spheres, including Nike, Apple, Netflix, IBM, Airbnb, and Google. Recognized as an industry leader, BUCK’s trophy case includes two Emmys, multiple gold Cannes Lions, Clios, pencils, cubes, and over 200 other awards from the most prestigious competitions in the world.

BUCK is in Residence, a collective of beautifully curated companies with the shared goal of empowering creative potential.