Bringing Vintage Italian Flavor to Taste of Chelsea
Unique design recreates 30s style European advertising posters while promoting this annual culinary extravaganza.
Since the very first Taste of Chelsea in 2011, the St. Louis Center has worked to make this event a staple of fun, friends, and food for the local community with help from other area organizations and restaurants. WTW Design has been a Taste of Chelsea sponsor from the start, providing design services each year for the event.
This is a very personal project for us. We get to really stretch creatively, and our work helps raise money for St. Louis Center and promote their mission. It’s a win-win.” -Ken Wilson, WTW creative director.
Each year the design has been a local hit, and 2017 was no exception. After much discussion and reflection, the team decided to run with the theme of classic 1930s Italian food posters, as their charm and tradition matched well with the mood of Taste of Chelsea. Jason Schnabel, the lead designer for the project, drew from last year’s design as well as a number of such posters for inspiration and challenged himself to surpass the well-received artwork from 2016. As much of the event is focused on wine, the design sought to bring together traditional Italian culture with aspects of the event in a single memorable image. With details ranging from the subtle use of Italian flag colors to the overt callbacks to the typography of those classic posters, the design lovingly referenced classic Italian culture and visuals while remaining original and unique. Romantic, wholesome notions of the past reflected in the design echo feelings experienced at the event, helping guests to anticipate a night of great fun, delicious food, and fine wine.
By focusing on the charm and warmth of both the St. Louis Center and the Taste of Chelsea event, the project team at WTW Design created their best design yet. A toast to doing it again next year!
The St. Louis Center is a caring, residential, family living and learning environment providing for the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Opened in 1961, the St. Louis Center is administered by the Servants of Charity religious order from Italy.
