[ branding, design, experiential ]
Xocolatti (choco-latti), comes from the ancient Aztec word xocolātl, when it was believed that cacao was a food of the gods (with good reason).
Exit worked to launch this start-up brand, working hand-in-hand with award-winning New York architecture firm de-spec. We designed the branding, all packaging and marketing materials, shot the photography and built xocolatti.com
A key part of the assignment was the design approach for the store experience. Xocolatti opened in SoHo with a 150 square-foot space. The primary architectural strategy entailed eliminating the traditional barrier of a storefront and window display, instead creating an interactive vitrine-like space that seamlessly integrates with the streetscape.
The store’s walls were lined with custom-designed, floor-to-ceiling bronze shelving systems that carried glowing light boxes and the brand's iconic green and brown chocolate boxes. The wall, functioning as both storage and display, permitted bold graphic patterns embedded in the architecture.
Awards/Press:
▪ “Xocolatti,” Brand Spaces: Branded Architecture and the Future of Retail Design
▪ “Case Study: Four Small Projects, New York, USA,” Designing Interior Architecture
▪ Xocolatti, GDR Creative Intelligence: Global Innovation Report
▪ AIA Interiors Merit Award
▪ 39th Annual International Interior Design Award (IIDA), Interior Design Magazine
▪ 20th Annual Will Ching Award, Interior Design Magazine
▪ Interior Design Award (IDA), Interior Design Magazine
▪ Annual Azure Award, Azure Magazine
▪ Xocolatti, Sites Archi
▪ Box of Chocolates, DDI, The Creativity Issue
▪ Guilty Pleasures from De-Spec, Frame
▪ Like a Box of Chocolates, Interior Design Magazine
▪ Xocolatti, Workshop
▪ Xocolatti, Maru: Interior, Lifestyle Design
▪ By Design, Home Journal
▪ Excellence in Design, World Architecture News