Zero¡ and mc2

For the Zero° café and mc² restaurant, located in an historic building in San Francisco's Barbary Coast district, Propp Guerin (San Francisco) had to design a graphic system that would work with the bold architectural elements and traditional brick shell. The result is a modern facade and graphic system that contrasts well with the area's more classical architecture.

Simple, bold forms and strong colors in the signage complement the building's brick-and-steel framework. Propp Guerin named the cafe Zero° (Celsius for freezing) and created cool blue, painted-steel illuminated signage on the exterior. The interior signage is individual letters fabricated from waterjet-cut pieces of dichroic glass that change colors as you view it from different angles. At mc², the understated exterior blade sign is a sandblasted-glass panel with a steel frame. Below it, a menuboard in a metal frame glows with orange perimeter lighting, a nod to the warm temperature of the premier product: tarte flambee (a paper-thin pizza).

The soup-to-nuts project involved all interior and exterior signage, down to the beer taps in mc² (prismatic pieces of glass that have an etched background and sandblasted lettering filled with white goldleaf). Propp Guerin worked closely with Mark Cavagnero Associates (San Francisco) to create a seamless look at both venues. In addition to winning a Merit Award in the 2001 SEGD Design Awards competition, the restaurant and café also won two James Beard awards, for architecture and graphics — kind of like an Oscar for food.

Signage/Graphic Design: Propp Guerin, San Francisco — James Propp and Robert Guerin, principals

Architect: Mark Cavagnero Associates, San Francisco

Signage: Thomas Swan Sign Co., San Francisco; Hawkeye Architectural Signs, Novato, Calif.

Photography: Sharon Risedorph, San Francisco