Passé no more: Poolboy Studio’s identity for The Porcelain Shoppe shines a new light on the material

Located in Central Florida, The Porcelain Shoppe is a unique venture that offers an exciting and lighter alternative to traditional materials used in commercial and residential surfaces. With over a decade of experience in the trade, the craftsmen behind this venture specialise in large format porcelain slabs, making them the go-to experts for handling this material in a creative and efficient manner. Unlike the typical perception of porcelain as a pristine, sophisticated, and perhaps antiquated material, The Porcelain Shoppe brings its own rebellious spirit to the industry, which is captured in Poolboy Studio’s bold identity system.

As a nod to the chunkiness and rectangularity associated with large-format porcelain slabs, the Florida-based creative studio chose the Soviet-inspired Gosha Sans by Pangram Pangram for the wordmark and header typeface. For the secondary font, they selected Neue Montreal, also by Pangram Pangram. “We wanted something classic and neutral to sit alongside Gosha, and convey information in a manner that allowed the porcelain products to be the hero,” says partner Chris Ladwig.

Inspired by luxury, classic car script emblems like Cadillac and LaSalle, the monogram was created to not just pair with the rigidity of the wordmark, but also represent the founder of Porcelain Shoppe, who Ladwig describes as “young, fully tattooed, a lover of  classic cars, and a musician, who stands out like a sore thumb on a job site full of polo shirts.”

The designers aimed for an impactful colour palette that not only supports the wordmark but also reflects the founder’s taste and inspiration, which ranges from streetwear to classic cars and vintage drums. “The black and white cover the basics, and the sky blue helps with a soft contrast,” explains partner Dylon York. Considering the brand’s intimate association with interior design, Poolboy Studio was careful not to create “a bulldozer of an identity,” and instead introduced softness through warm hues. “Butterscotch is the real hero,” York continues. “It’s a late ’60s, early ’70s harvest kind of colour. It looks great printed matte or on a textile, and drips like honey when used in a glossy finish. Even the name Butterscotch paints a vivid picture. We think it’s a unique palette and represents some of the key aspects of the brand’s personality,” he concludes.

Poolboy Studio

The Porcelain Shoppe