The Greater Toronto Area pizza chain Pizzaiolo is serving up a new look and feel, courtesy of creative agency Good&Ready.

The rebranding includes all customer touch points, from the logo and store design, to pizza boxes and direct mail. The objective was to reflect the chain’s focus on high quality, handmade gourmet pizza. “The new branding does a much better job of reflecting the quality and authenticity of our pizza,” said chief operating officer Ron Craig.

The new branding has been introduced at three stores, with plans to update the chain’s remaining 38 stores by next year. The Message asked Good&Ready co-founder Alan Madill to expand on some of the thinking of the new design elements.

The logo: “Pizzaiolo means pizza maker. People had trouble pronouncing Pizzaiolo when the word was in the old oval logo shape. Stacking it and putting it in an imperfect circular shape not only helps you pronounce it, but it also speaks to handmade craftsmanship. We call it the ‘pie’ logo.”

The box: “When a pizza box gets delivered, the outside of the box should get you excited about what’s inside the box. Each pizza box has a different expression that always speaks to the exceptional quality of the pizza inside. And for quality assurance, every box is signed by the ‘pizzaiolo’ who made it.”

The brochure: “In the delivery world, direct mail is still king. How do you stand out from the messy designs of the pizza and fried chicken competitors? You become what they aren’t. Clean and simple, with food photography on all print collateral that makes you want to eat the brochure. It stands out and makes you feel less guilty about not wanting to cook.”

The interior: “Pizzaiolo has great tasting gourmet pizza, but the stores where they were being made felt the exact opposite. We created environments that are clean, inviting and speak to craftsmanship at every angle. We moved the pizza making process to the front of the restaurant so people can see it first-hand. We made sure every Pizzaiolo restaurant feels like it’s part of the community, not a cookie-cutter chain.”

The exterior: “Like the interior, the exterior has to say quality. A simple exterior design makes it stand out from cluttered storefront signs. But what the simple design also does is draw your eye inside the restaurant, so you can see the pizzaiolo hard at work.”