Juan Luis Branding

Joining her father in the family business, Maria came to me for a rebrand of Juan Luis tapas bar. She wanted a fresh, more casual look that would reflect the social nature of food sharing as well as the high quality of ingredients on which they pride their dishes. Very early in the research we saw a softer, hand-drawn approach as a means to help Juan Luis stand out from the competition and communicate authenticity.

Keywords:
FRESH • DELECTABLE • SOCIABLE • QUALITY

Several initial concepts were drawn that included fish, peppers, lemons, text only, and monograms. Nevertheless, with its strong cultural connection to freshness and the Mediterranean lifestyle, the olive branches showed the most promise.

The two olives in the final artwork have an extra layer of significance in symbolizing Maria now joining her father at the restaurant. This, paired with the simplicity of the initials and the sense of connectedness from the oval shape came together to form the final logo design.

Because many Spanish restaurants use bold, saturated colors in their branding, this an area to really communicate that Juan Luis is different. Rather than being high energy, we wanted to show Juan Luis as a place to slow down and enjoy great food with great people. For this reason, we chose a warm palette of soft, muted hues.