Studio Blackburn gave Nick Ellis’s two butcher shops in London’s Blackheath a shared identity. The studio preserved each shop’s connection to its neighborhood. The historic Village location uses dark green and serif lettering. Meanwhile, Standard, aimed at a younger audience, features an orange background and heavy letterforms. The Ellis Butchers logo unites both locations.
The business began in 2023, when Ellis purchased the century-old Blackheath Butchers shop. He later opened a second location in nearby Blackheath Standard. Ellis has worked as a butcher for over 20 years. The name pairs his surname with “Butchers” to identify the trade. The business practices whole-animal butchery, using a variety of cuts and reducing waste. The studio’s task was to unite the shops under a shared name that conveyed product quality, traceable meat origins, and responsible sourcing.
The logo consists of a two-line wordmark. Ellis sits above Butchers, with both words left-aligned. The capital “E” and “B” are paired with lowercase letters. The longer lower word creates a stepped right edge. A single-line version was developed for narrow spaces and appears along the awning’s lower edge, among other applications.
The wordmark uses Bagoss Bold Condensed from Prague-based Displaay Type Foundry. Its narrow, bold letters are closely spaced, creating a dense arrangement. The typeface combines geometric shapes with subtle departures. The dot over the “i” is square, the terminals of the “s” and “c” are angled, and the “u” strokes vary in thickness. The top of the “t” rises in a curve and ends in a flat cut, while its lower curve includes a short projection. The vertical stems of the “l” and “i” flare slightly at the base.
Daniel Quisek designed Bagoss, and Igino Marini refined its letter spacing. The typeface was released in February 2022. It began as a narrow sans serif with tall lowercase letters and diagonal terminals. Later, designers added variations in stroke thickness and small, one-sided serifs. In the Ellis Butchers identity, the typeface connects the two shops, while the names Village and Standard, drawn from local place names, distinguish them.
Village uses ABC Gaisyr, a serif typeface from Dinamo. Its thin connecting strokes and long terminals contrast with the heavy main logo. The double-story “g” has a large lower loop. The typeface draws on Jacques Jaugeon’s sketches for Louis XIV’s royal printing types. Its designers call the split serifs “Butterfly Serifs.”
The typeface’s historical references suit the Village location. The premises were built as a butcher shop over 100 years ago and continue to serve that purpose. The Blackheath Butchers lettering and the date 1924 remain on the facade. Beneath them, a green awning bears the Village name. The updated Ellis Butchers identity sits alongside the older sign, keeping the shop’s history visible to customers.
Standard uses a heavy sans-serif typeface similar to the main logo, with black lettering on a saturated orange background. Village uses light lettering on dark green. The colors and location names distinguish the two shops, while the shared name identifies them as part of the same business.
Both shops feature Meat Ellis, a character shaped like a cut of meat with two legs and shoes. Lines within the silhouette depict the cut’s structure. The name plays on the identical pronunciation of “meat” and “meet.” The character appears beside the logo on storefront windows and price tags, adding humor to customer communications. The phrase “Nice to Meat You,” a twist on the greeting “Nice to Meet You,” continues the wordplay.