A café bar identity design celebrating Liverpool's transatlantic ties

Client
Nova Scotia
Location
Liverpool
Discipline
Brand
Digital
Websites
Sectors
Food & Drink
Retail & Leisure
Vintage green-toned map of Nova Scotia and neighbouring regions, showing coastlines, counties and the Bay of Fundy.

The name Nova Scotia was chosen for this independent café bar due to its connection with the Canadian district. This café bar pays homage to Liverpool's forgotten Nova Scotia district, which played a significant role in the city's maritime history. This history encompassed the timber trade between Canada and Liverpool, supporting the extensive shipbuilding activities that occurred at the docks.

When creating a brand identity for Nova Scotia, we aimed to capture the spirit of the area's maritime heritage and portray a welcoming impression on the many tourists that pass through the area due to its situation on Liverpool's waterfront.

Circular Nova Scotia badge logo with a compass rose design in green, navy, and white on a green background.
Nova Scotia Cafe Kitchen Bar logo shown in three variations: the full logo with compass star on cream, a stacked wordmark on navy, and the standalone compass star icon on green.
Metal compass left with detailed rose, linked by thin horizontal bars to a pixelated star-like motif on black background
Teal cafe display with a menu stand beside an A-frame sign showing Nova Scotia compass, lighthouse and food icons.
Dark navy T-shirt laid flat with rolled sleeves and a small green-and-white Nova Scotia compass logo on the left chest.

Logo concept

The logo references the maritime heritage of the area with a compass graphic, incorporating the initials for North and South to represent Nova Scotia.

The circular form of the logo is mainly employed for its adaptability across various applications, including crucial social media avatars. In addition, the compass rose can be used alongside the logotype or independently as a supporting visual element.

Graphic exploration

For the wider brand identity we incorporated elements such as maritime symbols, landmarks, and nautical themes to evoke a sense of adventure and exploration.

Colours are inspired by the ocean, with the vivid turquoise used as a bright colour to catch the eye of passersby. The typography reflects the past by utilising a woodcut font from the 1900’s. By blending these elements, the brand identity seeks to convey the spirit of Nova Scotia, inviting visitors to explore and appreciate Liverpool’s rich maritime heritage.

Modern café interior with wooden plank wall, pendant lights, high stools and a round Nova Scotia sign in the window.
Round hanging 'Nova Scotia' compass sign seen through a café window with three glowing pendant lights and a brick interior.
Four geometric emblems in mint green and dark teal on a pale background: two pinwheel stars and two diamond outlines.
Blurred pedestrian in red cap walks past a tiled mural of teal and navy nautical icons and Nova Scotia branding.
Two round embroidered Nova Scotia compass patches—one mint green, one dark navy—with a central star on a dark blue background.
Stacked typographic text reading "NOVA EAST SCOTIA WEST" in alternating white and dark teal letters on a muted green background.
Mobile phone mockup showing the novascotialiverpool.co.uk website with a green-tinted interior photo and compass logo, alongside a Squarespace logo card.

A website powered by Squarespace

We selected Squarespace as our platform for several reasons. Firstly, it allows for seamless integration of menus, reservations, and contact information.

Secondly, the intuitive drag-and-drop interface allows for easy customisation, making it simple to showcase image galleries, highlight events, and allow multiple user accounts so content can be regularly updated by various members of the team.

Lastly, its responsive design ensures a seamless browsing experience across various devices.

Nautical graphic collage with striped lighthouse, submarine, hourglass cocktail, wave pattern and map coordinates.