Ey Studio mines Italy’s postwar design era for Alemagna’s rebrand

The Brand Identity: Alemagna’s story runs through the everyday life of postwar Italy. The first pastry shop on Piazza del Duomo in Milan, the panettone that became synonymous with Christmas tables, the Autogrill counters on new motorways, the Charms candies and the ice creams that filled childhoods. It’s a brand that lives in people’s memories as much as on shop shelves.

Ey Studio’s rebrand of the historic Milanese confectioner leans into that, translating the atmosphere of a specific Italian moment into packaging built for today. The studio set its coordinates around the Italian Miracle, the postwar expansion that turned small family businesses into household names and gave the country a visual vocabulary all its own. The source material was the period itself – its products, music, industry, art and graphic design – rather than any existing Alemagna packaging.

“Across products, music, industry, art and brand design, this era is characterised by a visual imagery tied to an authentic Italian identity,” says Marco Corona, Co-founder & Creative Director at Ey Studio. “It represents an atmosphere and a collection of icons that defined an entire society and era, not just the Alemagna brand.” The wordmark is built on geometric, almost architectural letterforms, their cuts and angles recalling the hand-carved type of early 20th-century Italian printing.

On pack, a display face spells out PANETTONE in bold letters that rise and fall like a mountain range above the Milano 1921 seal, while Gioacchino Alemagna’s cursive signature sits underneath as a quiet authorship mark. “Our primary typeface stems from a time of great experimentation in typography, drawing inspiration from an era when every character was crafted with care,” Corona explains.

“These geometric shapes feel so unique because they recall the hand-carved letters of the printing press, preserving a sense of energy and life.” At the centre of the colour system is ice blue, a contemporary reimagining of Alemagna’s historic shade, set against a bold red-orange that pulls the packaging away from the pastel politeness of traditional pastry branding. Once that contrast is established, the same logic rolls out across the flavour range.

Chocolate sits in deep brown with soft pink typography, gingerbread and orange in forest green with mustard, golden with lemon in yellow on yellow, each variant borrowing its cue from its key ingredient. The result is a family that reads as a single range at shelf distance and as distinct products up close. Archive material is treated almost like found footage. Ey Studio cropped and fragmented historic imagery into duotone backdrops and detail work on tags, seals and secondary packaging, letting it surface in supporting roles. “The archive played a dual role,” Corona notes.

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The article discusses a significant rebranding effort that connects historical design influences with modern branding strategies, making it impactful and relevant for industry professionals, though the concept of drawing from heritage is not entirely new.