Bruto is a Spanish restaurant specializing in traditional Basque food and culture. If you’re like me, you’re very unfamiliar with Basque so the quick summary is its an Atlantic coastal region between France and Spain. Their cuisine is a typically a mix of fresh seafood and land-dwelling animals. Bruto obviously wanted the brand to preserve customs of the culture with a modern swing. Sandra Mendez led the project and developed it by working around icons of the culture’s traditional sports, also called “rural sports” by many. These games were often influenced by daily chores and much of that is reflected in Bruto’s banding, most notably the imagery used in cards and in-house signage. Games like stone block pulling, tug of war and wood chopping are all included among the rural sports. It’s an interesting link to a culture and while it’s quite the specialty, those educated about Basque culture will probably see the influence quickly. Those of that aren’t that familiar, well it will look like ax-influenced art, perhaps a modern interpretation of an ancient tool. That works too.
