maison centenaire

When a Brooklyn-born baker fulfilled his lifelong dream of taking over a 100-year-old French bakery, he came to me with a heartfelt challenge: how to honor its legacy while making it resonate with a new generation. As a fellow Brooklyn native, I understood the stakes. Maison Centenaire wasn’t just a bakery—it was a fixture of the neighborhood, quietly resisting the tide of gentrification.

I immersed myself in its world: rising before dawn to observe baking rituals, paging through dog-eared family recipes, and listening to stories from multi-generational regulars. These moments shaped a brand identity rooted in memory and craft. I designed a visual system featuring custom illustrations of vintage baking tools and elegant French typography—sophisticated, tactile, and unmistakably theirs.

 The identity extended across packaging, storefront, and digital touchpoints with quiet confidence and care. The most powerful validation came from a lifelong patron who, after seeing the new branding, paused and said, “You didn’t change it—you revealed it.”

Today, Maison Centenaire is thriving—welcoming longtime neighbors and curious newcomers alike. It’s not just a bakery reborn—it’s a story of heritage passed forward, with purpose and pride.

brand identity
brand design
experiential design
custom illustration