Overview

Parasole Restaurant Holdings, a restaurant concept company, was interested in developing a new "destination" restaurant that would feature very hot food from equatorial countries in an edgy, high-energy atmosphere.

Challenge

Create a name and brand identity, and bring it to life so that every aspect of the dining experience was unique, from the logo to the chop sticks to the matchbooks.

Solution

Building on the theme "street food from the hot zones," Gage created the name: Chino Latino. The brand personality was defined as spicy and complex, and the imagery was designed to be as engaging as the restaurant's food and the cultures from which it draws.

Results

Gage created a complete brand identity, including all visual elements and materials. The effort extended into the menus, signage, glassware and tableware – even the messages found inside the fortune cookies.

Chino Latino quickly became the talk of Minneapolis, and ranks among the Twin Cities' most successful restaurants.