This is still confusing me. Sam Fox, a seemingly-misguided but otherwise quite succesful restauranteur in Phoenix, has opened the Greene House at that city’s Kierland Commons mall. The restaurant serves food somehow influenced by the Craftsman ideal, and I would hope & expect that the interior lives up to its name. Due to its location in a mall, however nice that mall may be, I have doubts that it could possibly be anything that wouldn’t bemuse the Greenes themselves. Certainly the food is not something that the brothers would have had access to – green papaya chilled pink snapper, curried pistachios with goat cheese and beets, and mini Kobe beef sliders weren’t very popular in Pasadena in the ’20s, I don’t think, although perhaps they would have been, had they been available.
I can’t criticise the food – in fact, I don’t have any reason to think that it’s anything but excellent (even given the mall location), but I can criticise the logo. A late ’90s modernist typeface and a logotype more reminiscent of a poor understanding of late-period Frank Lloyd Wright stained-glass design and Seccessionist typography is not necessarily the best signifier for a restaurant offering a paean to Greene & Greene. I’m a graphic designer and I would never, ever expect a client to accept something as shoddy as that, but again, this is no reflection on the food.
Hope you can help settle a big debate between friends. What is the difference between “craftsman” style and “mission” style? One friend says there the same thing, the other says there’s a major connotational difference, but is unable to articulate it. I’m just confused.
Hope you can help!
Did you actually eat with the Greene’s in the 1920’s to know what would and would not disgust them?
I would be curious to know who this person is with such a strong opinion. I would like to know how you would do things differently.
I don’t know about the rest of you restaurant industry people out there reading this but the restaurant business has provided me everything but low wages! I was able to put myself through college and graduate school, purchase a home, travel quite a bit and the list goes on…again WHO ARE YOU!
I think you should have read a bit closer.
A – I never said the food would disgust the Greenes, rather that the ingredients and styles of food were not what they would have had access to in Southern California in the 1920s. I used the word “disgust” in relation to the setting of the restaurant – in a mall – whose very prefab nature is in complete and total opposition to everything the Greenes practiced and preached.
B – I am sure the restaurant industry is quite good for the most part to owners, investors, chefs, managers and others at the top of the food chain. I was merely referring to the advertised wages for the majority of staff. I certainly cannot speak to your case specifically, only aggregate numbers.
C – I apologize for insulting you; this was not my intent.
Yours,
Joshua
Hi Joshua,
You seem to be an intelligent and I am sure talented graphic designer who seems to know and understand the craftsman period well so have a suggestion. Perhaps you could design a logo for the Greene House that you feel would better represent these two great architects. Just curious to see what you could come up with. Although you do not appreciate the current logo or the food (as a reflection of the craftsman period) if you are in the Scottsdale / Phoenix area try dining there, you may feel differently about it. And by the way, if I am not mistaken, craftsman style does have a hint of Asian influence; hence the Kobe Burgers. I guess it is a modern take and interpretation of the craftsman style reflected in the food. I have eaten there and it is wonderful. dms
I do not do work for free, at least not for commercial businesses. I do plenty of free work for charities, but I feel that it devalues our entire profession if I do pro-bono work for commercial clients who would benefit from it. It is up to the client to pay for a logo or other identity which best matches their product. Just because the new UPS logo doesn’t work as well as the old, for instance, doesn’t mean that every designer who believes that – and there are hundreds, if not thousands – should design a free new logo for UPS, just as every film critic should not have to make a better film to be justified in giving a negative review.
And yes, the Greene bros. particular take on Craftsman design does indeed have a strong Japanese influence and some Chinese elements are found in their design work as well.
I am sure the food is excellent; I am glad that you enjoyed your meal there.
Thank you for your response. Although no one ever suggested that you should work for free…