Cornet has had a career filled with success. Earlier this year, he debuted his own exhibition at the Centro Colich gallery in Barranco, Lima, Peru. He has worked with many companies on defining the visual aspect to their brand, including CosmoVision and the Toulouse Lautrec Institute for Design. Working with the company NWX New Circus, Cornet was able to work with a multitude of different brands and explore different aspects of his artistic capabilities. This includes his work with the Peruvian restaurant Republica.
“I really liked working on a food project, particularly since it seemed to me to have a positive impact on Peruvian society, its concept of bringing a new audience to popular Peruvian home dishes and culture, and the promotion of quality products, fair treatment towards small producers,” said Cornet. “To sum up it felt like a positive project promoting Peruvian gastronomy and original products, that could actually grow nationwide and then internationally in the future. It also had the concept of re-inventing the typical farmers’ market stall restaurant, which sounded very interesting and a rich universe to be work with.”
The Republica restaurant was the first of its kind, serving authentic Peruvian high-end fast food, with a new take on Peruvian “home” dishes, and a total compromise on the direct connection to its producers in province and a guarantee of the freshness and quality of its ingredients. Cornet decided to research by going to the Peruvian “underground” farmers’ markets and took photographs, looking for elements and materials that would connect Republica to those places in the minds of its clients. Cornet continued his research for the project by going to Republica’s warehouses to learn about their processes, as he planned to represent them in decorative and propaganda illustrations.
“I liked that the project involved Peruvian popular graphic culture, which is extraordinarily rich but discriminated in Lima’s modern society. It felt like I was giving credit to it,” said Cornet.
The project began with redesigning the logo with a lettering inspired in the popular Peruvian sign painting typography, and grew into the idea of creating a hybrid between a Peruvian farmers market stall with a classic American diner place, reflecting the freshness and vernacular Peruvian feeling together with the fast-food concept imported from North American culture.
Cornet decided the signage was to be hand painted by local and traditional sign painters in the same style done in the markets. This led to another phase of the project, which to do the same work for the main, much larger restaurant. Cornet worked on many more lettering designs for signage inside of the restaurant as well as large illustrations to be displayed outside, and designed the very big marquee light-box sign promoting Republica’s name.
“I crafted my artwork inspired by vintage food industry illustrations mixed with a typical Peruvian provincial style of graphics. Each piece was made to be very creative and easy to understand, with a do it yourself kind of look, following the general identity we had defined such as color chart and particular typographic styles. Every illustration and lettering was drawn by hand to have an irregular and authentic feel, and then redrawn in vector on the computer faithfully to the original handmade lines,” described Cornet.
Cornet wanted an artistic style that corresponded to Republica and the whole visual universe he had defined. It had to be easy and accessible, and to relate to and join the Peruvian agricultural/farm/food producers’ graphic style together with restaurant and gastronomic graphic culture. Letters and illustrations had to look like they had been hand-painted.
“A big inspiration for me was the trucks that bring the food to the markets, They are very saturated with details; each truck personalized into a unique piece, always with hand-painted letters and illustrations, catch phrases, lights, logos and stickers and even customized mud guards,” he said.
Despite having to overcome the challenge of learning and adapting to the style of Peruvian popular graphic culture after growing up in Paris, Cornet exceeded all expectations. Cornet worked closely with Carlos Ramos, the Creative Director of NWX New Circus, who supported Cornet throughout the entire process and backed all his vision and decisions.
“Working with Alexandre has been a positive and prosperous experience. His time in the agency made a significant difference to the result and success of each projects he took care of. The team and I had a great relation with Alex, who stimulated creative interchange and pushed everybody’s boundaries. Alex was with present in all the client meetings related to creative matters, and even sometimes on his own. His process was to discuss and define strategy with me, before conducting field/on-site research, sometimes traveling around town for references. After making a plan of action and selling it with me to the clients, he would lead alone the development of the project directing the creative graphic team, presenting to me then to clients, at key stages of the projects, and moving forward with approval. He would follow up the projects until completed and fully implemented,” said Ramos.
Cornet’s work on Republica’s new imagery was extremely well-received. Not only did it help rebrand Republica and promote the restaurant ultimately leading to an increase in sales, it also displayed Cornet’s work around the city of Lima in very touristic and popular places.
“It was just great to be able to inspect and discover all aspects of the restaurant’s process,” concluded Cornet.