What an amazing way to “advertise” appliances than with a pop-up experience. That’s the Social Kitchen. It was a pop-up food experience that showed off the products and culinary skills of a couple of chefs. The brand is stark, but powerful. It’s minimal but full of impact. Here’s what was said about the concept:

“‘Visitors should pre­pare for a sensory-challenging exhi­bi­tion, with new per­spec­tives on kitchen tra­di­tions, inno­v­a­tive design solu­tions and care­fully crafted taste expe­ri­ences,’ explains Mark Elmore, Head of Industrial Designer for Fisher & Paykel.

Dubbed the Social Kitchen, it’s a pop-up expe­ri­ence where food, fur­ni­ture and the appli­ances com­bine in a work of art and func­tion­al­ity. The Social Kitchen is about explor­ing and chal­leng­ing con­ven­tional ideas about the kitchen and its evolv­ing role as a social hub in our every­day lives...”

The experience was designed by Alt Group for Fisher & Paykel

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The brand identity for Rockfish is campy… seriously… it’s CAMPY, but not in the negative way. Rockfish pulls its identity’s elements from the great outdoors to create a literal correlation between its food and its food’s origins. The place is approachable and down to earth and the restaurant’s packaging and menus push that feeling through their design. Designed by One Fast Buffalo.

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Pizzeria Farina shakes cliche with a restaurant brand identity that’s driven by typography and natural imagery. The printed work is simple. It’s type well set, kerned and placed. “Imagery” is that of the products themselves creating a natural way of showing the ingredients. The rest of the identity is homemade and down to earth. Well done all around once again by Glasfurd & Walker.

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Gotta love the racy ads that accompany the Papaya King’s brand. Pushing the rivalry between NY and LA, the advertising and strategy was to be definitively NY for those who love NY hot dogs. Instead of waiting for the location to open, the branding/ad team launched a food truck to promote the opening. This combined with a strong social media approach built buzz and launched the bricks and mortar properly. Bring the food to them! Great strategy and and great work by Mistress.

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Bright orange and stark white create a vibrant, lively brand identity for L’usine. Designed by Vincent Ramsay-Lemelin. I love the unique shapes and especially the printing techniques that make this restaurant’s identity literally pop off the page. It’s bright, fun and makes you want to experience the excitement at this restaurant.

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The brand identity for Gottino, a restaurant and wine bar in Greenwich Village New York, is rustic and earthy. From the colors to the woodcut style illustrations one gets the feel of an organic, natural food experience. It’s a great example of being classic and traditional without being boring or old fashioned. Designed by Avec in collaboration with 5 in 1.

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The team at Mucca designed the brand identity for La Condesa Comida Y Tequila. It’s marked by hand rendered typography giving it a common person’s feel, homemade, do-it-yourself. The aqua’s mixed with splashes of warm colors gives the overall brand a Mexican vibe you’d expect, in a way that’s semi-unexpected. What I especially like about this is the matchbook. Often times little items like this are overlooked and just produced for their utility. These are oppportunties to extend the brand and build awareness. Not to be taken litghtly.

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It’s not the logo that necessarily jumps out at me for Nusa Kitchen’s branding. Instead, it’s the way they treat the seasons as collections and treat the packaging for that season with different designs. That’s what makes this restaurant brand come to life. With imagery of knit patterns for the winter collection, and chinese inspirationed design for the summer soup collection, Nusa sets their brand identity on high as recognizable and memorable. Designed by Third Person.

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The brand identity design for Bailey’s Range can be summed up in one word: Fun. From the semi-realistic illustrations of food to the bright, semi-retro color treatments, the entire brand looks like it’d be a blast. It’s not over the top, it’s right on. This restaurant promises fun not just in words, but visually at every touch point. Communal seating, bright interiors and an identity that “says” it all visually. That’s a great restaurant brand. Designed by Toky

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Brand Brothers designed this dual identity for a restaurant and delicatessen in Montreal. The typography really shines in these two identities, especially for the deli, La Manade. It’s simple enough to be readable and different enough to be engaging and intriguing. I like the use of only one color on top of black and white to make the color pop and give it life. I think the “B” mark in La Boqueria could have been done better, but you get the idea and it works.

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