Teller: Culinary ode to storytelling

The Teller brand that Werklig lent their hands and minds to, tellingly, centers around storytelling. People have gathered around a table (well maybe a fire first) for thousands of years to share stories and musings while eating and drinking. We also took a page from the book of magical realism, wanting to sprinkle a bit of supernatural around the realism of food to die for.

The devilish magic is in the details. Every single minuscule element speaks its story, raises its little voice to form a magnificent chorus. Establishing Teller as the warmly radical neighborhood restaurant, notching up the charming sleepiness into relaxed contentment with a hint of hedonism. Refined, soulful and radical – like Teller’s values, our rulebook for the design (if you’ve read any of our other case studies, you’ll have noticed how seriously we take brand values as a tool).

The hand-drawn, giddy logo, warm, but very whimsical nature of the colour palette, and hand-drawn illustrations nod to the history of Töölö as a somewhat colony of artists, and location of many unmentioned famous restaurants, where the iconic names probably spent more time than at their homes.

The whole visual language aims for a surreal, dreamlike feel — a journey rather than a mere moment. Illustrations adorn Teller with roundtable characters inspired by fables and folklore (maybe those long-gone Töölö artists too). It’s like stepping into another reality where anything might be possible: flying dogs, melting clocks, paradise-like landscapes. The intended feel? Curiosity and wonder. The neon butterfly above the entrance winks at you as you enter — and if you can, leave.

The Fyra-designed interior (Helsinki’s gutsiest and brightest designers and interior architects — also our friends) hugs the diners (and the winers) with balmy textured walls, very thoughtful lighting, and furniture that you want to steal. Basically, like those artists, one desires to live in Teller.