Brief Explanation

Hong Kong has a cluttered restaurant scene, with new 'it' restaurants opening and closing every month. In the last year there has also been an influx of big international brand names, such as Catalunya, that local entrepreneurs have had to compete with. The challenge was how to cut through this clutter to stand out and how to connect the two restaurants yet give the new one a strong identity and charisma.

The Brief

After the success of Madam Sixty Ate, a European restaurant founded by a whimsical chef of great imagination, we were appointed to brand a second restaurant with Spanish influences in the hub of Hong Kong’s vibrant culinary scene. The owners wanted the two restaurants to somehow be related to strengthen brand recognition and familiarity around Hong Kong, but at the same time wanted the new restaurant to have a strong enough brand to stand on its own. We were lucky in that the client trusted us and handed us a generally open brief.

How the final design was conceived

'Madam' was about encounters with strange animals. We provided Madam with a quirky companion, Sal Curioso; eccentric inventor and uncommon genius. He meticulously designs and builds contraptions to best cook the strange animals from Madam's travels. Each design comes with Sal's annotations and trademarks. Schematic drawings and documents fill the menus as patents, business cards are licensing labels for copyrights, coasters are designed to draw water condensation from cocktails (a piping system that transports the liquid when coasters are placed together to connect the pipes) and Sal's literature is positioned as an installation piece.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

- Best Restaurant 2013 by Group Dining - Most Popular Restaurant 2013 by Dining City - Red Dot Communication Winner 2013 Publications featured. - Wallpaper Magazine - Yatzer, Mr Cup, The Design Ark, National Traveller, Form Fifty Five, Design Work Life - Jetsetter Magazine - Kate Spade City Guide