Chilo's Bar Branding // Process

_______ This is a conceptual redesign of Chilo’s – a restaurant and bar that serves Mexican inspired food and drinks located in Brooklyn. Chilo’s specializes in mezcal and has over 50 options to choose from, as well as tequila, beers, margaritas, frozen drinks, and more. The food is served from a food truck placed permanently on the back patio. The food truck serves incredible tacos, tostadas, and tortas, along with a wide variety of salsas (including a house salsa that is sold by the bottle). They also have their own XXX hot sauce. The goal for this project was to keep the funky and eclectic vibe of the restaurant, while also refining it. The branding strikes a balance between stylized and thoughtful but also carefree and down to earth in order to have a successful representation of the restaurant. The strategy was to have a warm and vibrant color palette, using black and white with accents of yellow and orange. These colors provide a lot of energy and spirit, with the black and white helping making the brand feel more grungy. The incorporation of illustrated elements help tell the story of the brand. The fun and quirky narrative makes the design feel more whimsical, low key, casual, and relatable. The restaurant is portrayed as not taking themselves too seriously, but keeping in mind that the main thing they’re passionate about is the quality of their food and drinks. The logo was drawn and then distorted in a scanning process. The design employs a dynamic logo, so that any of the distortions can be used as the logo on the collateral. This strategy reinforces the “go with the flow” nature of the restaurant. It’s casual and fun, and they all look cohesive and recognizable as a unit even though they are all different shapes and sizes. The distorted aesthetic is successful because it pushes the quirky and eclectic nature of the restaurant. The illustration on the menu cover features the Chilo’s XXX sauce and portrays the story of someone dousing their taco in the sauce and feeling the heat. The illustrations brings a lighthearted element to the design as well. This project was created during Douglas Riccardi's Restaurant Branding class at Cooper Union.