Reviving 1970s Paris: Design & Practice Reimagines Champs-Élysées Icon
Case Study
Design & Practice was invited by London-based designer Tom Dixon to help redesign Le Drugstore, a restaurant on Paris’s iconic Champs-Élysées. The project aimed to evoke the charm of Mad Men-era America, creating a ‘Luxury Convenience Store’ concept that influenced the brand identity. Drawing from American drugstores, Design & Practice reimagined typical office items into unique restaurant stationery and signage.
Reviving 1970s Paris: Design & Practice Reimagines Champs-Élysées Icon
June 16, 2020

The aim was to create a brand identity that is iconic, timeless and elegant by re-interpreting the heritage of American ad agency culture and typical American drugstores for the contemporary Parisian customer through simple typography and tactile materials and processes. As Le Drugstore has a clientele of mostly local Parisians, Design & Practice wanted to set the stage for Parisians to experience something different and be immersed in the world of Le Drugstore.

“Ultimately, we wanted to create an immersive brand that Parisians can fall in love with.”

The atmosphere of the restaurant was designed to have a masculine elegance. By putting emphasis on the French article ‘Le’ we made use of a linguistic rule, by which all words adopted from English into French are automatically masculine. The definitive article ‘LE’ therefore became an icon for THE late night dining destination in Paris.

With a focus on tactility and materiality, the finest papers and processes were used by Imprimerie du Marais to create technically enhanced and complex print material to look effortlessly basic. Humble items such as office dossiers and paper grocery bags were the inspiration for print and signage items of outstanding production and material quality, such as menus, packaging and wayfinding.

The reopening of Le Drugstore in May 2017, with chef Eric Frechon at the helm and Tom Dixon's unique interior design, was a pivotal moment for us. We aimed to craft an immersive dining atmosphere that resonates deeply with Parisians, inviting them to rediscover and embrace the essence of Le Drugstore in a fresh and compelling way.

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