China Cafe
Restaurant Rebrand
China Cafe is an authentic Chinese restaurant in Cedar Park, Texas. I rebranded them with a new logo, a business card, a sign, and a takeout menu.
Mood Board
My mood board consists mostly of photos of the interior of China Cafe, as well as a couple of AI-generated images of dragons. I wanted to maintain the feel and the atmisophere that the restaurant has going.
Initial Sketches
For my sketches, I created a matrix board with adjectives and nouns that reflect the authenticity of China Cafe. I ended up going with a jade dragon and a red cloud.
My Design
My design for the China Cafe logo deliberately features the four main colors seen within the restaurant: red, gold, and a light and dark jade green. I created a dragon and a clous with a two-toned gold border to resemble a metallic rim. I used a simple and bold font that resembles Chinese calligraphy just enough without being too flashy or difficult to read.
Stationery
The business cards are in the shape of the red card from the logo for a unique and eye-catching effect.
The takeout menu features photos of authentic Chinese cuisine, as well as a classic red geometric pattern. The gaps in the pattern on the edges of the paper are die-cut to give a unique shape unlike other takeout menus.
Touchpoints
I created a street sign and a quick mockup of it with a photo of China Cafe's real street sign. I made little icons of dumplings, sushi, sashimi, and egg drop soup which match the style of the dragon logo.
I, myself, am a regular patron of the restaurant, but the street sign is what inspired me to do this rebrand!
Original Sign
My Design
Reflections
This was a very fun project since I am such a fan of the restaurant. I really enjoyed creating a logo and icons that fit together as a set. I learned a lot about balancing photography with illustrations for the takeout menu. In the future, I would love to do a more broad array of assets that feature the icons more.