Abstinence Paris

Eat, drink, love – that’s the motto of Abstinence, a stylish restaurant located on La Motte-Picquet in Paris. Abstinence is the latest addition to the portfolio of Guillaume Benard’s Fitz Group, which already operates the Fitzgerald and the Vesper. According to Elodie Rouge’s review for Do It in Paris, Abstinence is distinguished by “a highly instagrammable decor”:

Here, you can disembark to flirt with your loved one or have fun in a group around a cocktail and plates to share in a glam and sophisticated atmosphere with a socialite clientele at the rendezvous.

Velvet curtains, candles, banquettes and tall seats in olive or tobacco leather, vibrant playlist, impressive Sarrancolin marble bar, extraordinary glass roof that fills the place with incredible light: the tone of this singularly cool address in the 15th district is set!

This mix of cool and chic extends to the typography. While the logotype sports whimsical sans-serif caps with Art Nouveau characteristics, all other text from the menus to the website is rendered in a contemporary serif with sharp details.

Abstinence’s visual identity was conceived by Abmo. The Paris-based studio led by Sonia Cordier and Dezyderiusz Gusta specializes in spectacular identities for the hospitality industry, see for example their work for Frenchie Restaurant and Hotel Sookie.

For the logo, Abmo created a custom typeface: Abstinence is characterized by a high waistline and an idiosyncratic S. The font has wide caps in the uppercase and narrrower alternates in the lowercase, which get mixed via OpenType features. Keussel provided the font production.

The brand typeface is Rector. Drawn by Type & Media graduate Hrvoje Živčić, it was published by Production Type in 2021, just a few months before Abstinence opened its doors. Rector often is used in all caps and big sizes, like for the three-word messages “EAT DRINK LOVE” or “OPEN ALL SUMMER”, flaunting its wedge-shaped bars and knife-like diagonals, which hint at its inspiration in stonecarving and monumental letters. Rector also appears in mixed case on the website and the printed menus, where it makes for a dignified text typeface with an unmistakable voice.