Dalla Corte - Eight Inc.

Dalla Corte.
Putting Meaning into an Identity.

Introduction

Dalla Corte is an Italian professional espresso machine manufacturer, whose founders have been responsible for many of the most crucial innovations in the sector for the last 70 years. Paolo Dalla Corte and his father Bruno set up their own company in 2001, and have continued to push the boundaries of excellence in the sector while also redefining the standard for ethical production processes.

Prior to the launch of a new product, Mina, Dalla Corte invited Eight Inc. to assess the current state of the brand, and reimagine how to best position it to maximize the potential of the new machine, and the organization itself.

Rebrand

“I would never have imagined how positive this change would be. People just love it.” – Holger Weltz, Director, Dalla Corte

We began by conducting an extensive audit of the business, the brand and Dalla Corte’s competitors in the sector. This included interviews with stakeholders, partners and customers, traveling to their factory in Milan, to trade shows across Europe, and even to Sumatra to experience the source of the coffee itself.

It was there that we uncovered the fundamental truths of the company, and what made them so special — an unerring drive to create not just better coffee and better machines, but a better industry and even a better world. This gave us the impetus to completely re-brand the company from its very heart outwards, with a new driving sentiment at the core of everything they would do — Make it better.

Rebrand - Eight Inc.

Rebrand - Eight Inc.

Rebrand - Eight Inc.

Load more images

Rebrand - Eight Inc.

Rebrand - Eight Inc.

Rebrand - Eight Inc.

Rebrand - Eight Inc.

Rebrand - Eight Inc.

Rebrand - Eight Inc.

Rebrand - Eight Inc.

Rebrand - Eight Inc.

Responsive Website

Along with the launch of their new brand, we were responsible for reimagining all key branded touchpoints fundamental to their experience, including dallacorte.com.

The first step was to launch a more streamlined micro-site to convey the spirit of the new brand and provide core online functionality most useful to their known b2b users while the full responsive website was being built.

For the full dallacorte.com experience, we were responsible for its content and SEO strategy, information architecture and technical planning, through to User Experience (UX), and UI (User Interface) design. Once prototyped and user tested we then worked closely with an inhouse digital development team to bring the site to life, providing development guidelines, key screens, templates and assets along the way.

The result is a fully SEO optimized, responsive website which has delivered against all KPIs established for the project — to improve awareness, consideration and conversion — all neatly underpinned by a tailored CMS that gives the brand complete control over ongoing site maintenance.

Responsive Website - Eight Inc.

Responsive Website - Eight Inc.

Responsive Website - Eight Inc.

Responsive Website - Eight Inc.

Load more images

Responsive Website - Eight Inc.

Responsive Website - Eight Inc.

Trade Show Experience

Our work rebranding Dalla Corte culminated in the design of an exhibition stand for Host; the bi-annual trade show focussed on the hospitality industries.

In direct analogy to the dualistic nature of the new brand, which contrasts notions of technological excellence with youthful enthusiasm and passion for coffee, the Host stand is split lengthways into two zones on either side of a 4m high and 15m long central ‘billboard’.

Dalla Corte’s professional range of espresso machines is showcased on one side of the ‘billboard’ whilst the other side is dedicated to the launch of a new machines concept — Dalla Corte Mina — a family of semi-professional machines.

Corresponding large-scale graphics are displayed on the billboard’s surface, which has been split into vertical fins, set at a 60-degree angle to the main direction of the stand, allowing visitors to traverse freely from one side to the other while maintaining a clear distinction between the two. Despite their precise positioning the fins create a playful environment: walking along the length of the stand perspectives and views both of machines and graphics continuously change.

To demonstrate and bring to life Dalla Corte’s new brand principles American illustrator Timothy Goodman created a live, interactive mural using his signature handwriting, scribing contributions collected from the Host audience and Dalla Corte’s twitter feed, memorializing their coffee moments.

Trade Show Experience - Eight Inc.

Trade Show Experience - Eight Inc.

Trade Show Experience - Eight Inc.

Load more images

Trade Show Experience - Eight Inc.

Trade Show Experience - Eight Inc.

Trade Show Experience - Eight Inc.

Share