I designed a complete brand identity system built around the story, architecture, and heritage of the manor. Creative direction was shaped collaboratively, following the client’s vision while guiding decisions through experience.
Since the manor’s reopening in August 2025, I’ve continued supporting Smecere with ongoing design needs — including social media, menus, signage, internal and guest-facing assets, uniforms, gift cards, calendars, and more. The result is a flexible, long-term brand system that grows alongside the business and supports daily operations without losing its character.
The logo system was designed to carry meaning, history, and function.
At its core is a simple but thoughtful logomark: a wine barrel viewed from above, referencing the manor’s past as a winery and tavern. Twelve lines form a clock-like structure, symbolising time and the building’s return to life after centuries. The shape also subtly forms the letter S, tying the symbol directly to the Smecere name.
The full logo combines:
• The S logomark and historic date (~1700~)
• A detailed illustration of the manor, closely matching the real building
• “SMECERE” (location name) set in a modern, elegant typeface
• “MUIŽAS KROGS” (Manor Tavern) in a classical serif for contrast and heritage
• A divider line to let the manor’s address breathe
From this, I created a clear set of logo variations: a simplified mark, stacked and horizontal versions, and reduced formats for everyday use. This allowed the identity to stay consistent across all applications while remaining flexible and practical as the brand identity grew.
Local residents responded especially positively to the manor illustration, as the brand visibly centred around the building itself — reinforcing a sense of pride and place.
Menu design played a key role in the guest experience and required careful cultural consideration.
I studied existing Latvian menus and local norms in detail, as even small decisions — such as the placement of the euro symbol — affect clarity and familiarity. The goal was to make the menus feel immediately natural and easy to read for local guests.
Latvian was set as the primary language, with Russian and English versions designed as secondary options. This was especially important as Smecere prepared to host international visitors during events such as biathlon competitions, where guests from outside Latvia would stay, dine, and attend events in the local area.
The final menus balance elegance with usability, ensuring clarity for locals while remaining accessible to international guests.
The manor’s daily lunch offers were available only during lunchtime. This concept was reflected in my creative use of the logomark as a clock. I overlaid the type of dish on offer onto the logomark and added time annotations to show when the lunch was available.
For their Instagram account, the business long-term vision was to create a place to eat, have fun and ultimately spend the night. To achieve this, I designed highlight covers that offered a straightforward user experience with a unique look for each highlight.
• Reservations: A clock head-on.
• Hotel: A blanket head-on.
• Drinks Menu: A wine glass head-on.
• Events: A wedding plate head-on.
• Food Menu: A food dish head-on.
This creative choice not only provided a unique experience but also ensured clarity for users. For example, seeing a blanket would indicate the Hotel section while a wine glass would lead to the Drinks Menu.
For the road signage, I took full responsibility for creating realistic day and night visualisations to help the team confidently decide before committing to production.
I generated base environments using ChatGPT Sora, then manually applied the logo, lighting, reflections, and materials to ensure the signage felt believable and true to the real surroundings. This allowed the team to clearly see how the sign would appear both during the day and and night, before committing towards a big investment like this.
Once approved, I prepared laser-ready DWG files for production. Due to the complexity of the logo (and chances of problematic anchor points), all files were carefully checked by me to ensure a smooth manufacturing process.
“Working with Ren was a great experience from start to finish. He guided us through each step and really took the time to understand the history and vision we had for the manor. His approach made the process feel clear and stress-free, and the final result reflects the place perfectly. I would highly recommend Ren to any business owner looking for a design partner they can trust.”
Toms Bergs | Founder & Owner