THE CHALLENGE Cacio e Pepe makes fresh pastas, sauces, condiments, dips and sourdough bread. The brand needed a packaging redesign that stayed consistent across many SKUs and package sizes. They wanted to keep their signature yellow, but the stark yellow and black palette felt harsh and did not convey handcrafted quality. The logo, a script with spaghetti elements, also lacked sophistication. THE SOLUTION I refined the logo by polishing and simplifying the script so it works across all touchpoints. I softened the palette and added a watercolor gradient with stripes, keeping the signature yellow while adding depth and warmth. Indigo blue became the primary color, giving a more premium feel and better contrast. Hand-sketched illustrations of ingredients and culinary elements add an artisanal, personal touch. The modular system flexes from small condiment jars to larger pasta packages, creating a cohesive, distinctive shelf presence that signals quality and authenticity. Cacio e Pepe also runs a supper club of intimate community dinners at the pastificio, and I illustrated a menu that captures the same warmth, sharing and togetherness, used as the menu cover and as an artwork displayed in their space.
