Gatto Design + The Legendary “It” Club
In 1939, Tim’s grandparents, Walter & Ida Gatto, founded The “It” Club in El Cerrito, CA. Consummate hosts, Walter and his wife, ran the bar and nightclub booking burlesque, comedy and music acts including, Redd Foxx, Sally Rand, The Vagabonds, Johnny Mathis, Johnny Cash, and the Smothers Brothers. Over it’s 44 years on San Pablo Avenue, The “It” Club cemented itself as an East Bay Icon before closing its doors for good in 1977.
Besides a lifetime fascination with the “It” Club, it was this bit of family history — the husband and wife team and the unique tie to the liquor business that gave us tons of inspiration as we created the visual identity for Gatto Design.
To start our branding journey, we asked ourselves many questions, pulled lots of visual reference, and enlisted Casey Rameriz & Joseph Shipp to challenge our ideas and develop our message and branding. The result was a vibrant and classic branding system inspired by the “It” Club and the era it lived in. It’s this timeless yet fresh energy that we hope to bring to every project we work on.
““You better believe it!” ”
The “It” Club no longer exists, but its spirit continues on through fans of Bay Area bar culture. We’ve set up an “It” Club memorial site dedicated to preserving all things “It” Club. We have plans to release more “It” Club related inspiration into the world, so stay tuned!
