Les Toques du Pain: A Bakery's Obsession with Bread

Les Bons Faiseurs Creates Unique Visual Identity for French Bakery

Les Toques du Pain is not just a bakery; it's a testament to the obsession and passion its bakers have for bread. The term "toqué" in French has multiple meanings, including a chef wearing a chef’s hat, someone nutty, someone crazy about someone, and someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This multi-layered meaning is reflected in the bakery's visual identity, making it stand out from other bakeries.

The design team at Les Bons Faiseurs drew inspiration from OCD, a common, chronic, and long-lasting disorder where a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts and behaviors that they feel the urge to repeat over and over. This concept perfectly encapsulates the bakers' obsession with bread and their constant strive for perfection.

The visual identity of Les Toques du Pain was brought to life by playing with the repetition of sentences to express passion, creating a large collection of patterns. This design strategy was implemented across all communication materials, including packaging, bags, baker's uniforms, and even the walls of the bakery.

The design project, which began in May 2017, resulted in the opening of two Les Toques du Pain bakeries in France, one in Vanves and one in Ferté-Alais. The new visual identity has been well received by both customers and bakers, with the latter expressing pride in wearing uniforms that declare: "I'm a baker".

The design of Les Toques du Pain was not without its challenges. The main challenge was to find an identity that accurately conveyed the passion of the bakers. However, the design team at Les Bons Faiseurs successfully overcame this challenge, resulting in a design that is not only visually appealing but also tells a story of the bakers' love for bread.

The unique design of Les Toques du Pain has earned it the prestigious Silver A' Design Award in Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design in 2018. This award is given to designs that showcase outstanding expertise, innovation, and artistic skill, introducing positive feelings, amazement, and wonder.