Rebrand & Logo Exploration
This project is dedicated to one of my all time favorite Chinese restaurants here in San Diego, Shan Xi Magic Kitchen. I have been a loyal patron of this place for years ever since my college days. A friend of mine introduced me to Shan Xi cuisine and I instantly fell in love with the unique and distinct flavors. Shan Xi Magic Kitchen is definitely the place to be if you are craving some authentic style Chinese cooking and taste!
I wanted to create a mock-up rebrand project for this restaurant. My main goal was to redesign their current logo into a more modern yet sophisticated style, without diminishing the Chinese aesthetics. Their current logo is very much on the traditional side, mainly showcasing Chinese calligraphy for most of it. I wanted to go on a different route and explore more of the beauty and possibilities with the Chinese characters I have to work with. I ended up picking a font called “ZCOOL QingKe HuangYou Regular” to base my logo on. I really like the modern take on the Chinese character as well as the roundedness of this specific font. I also went with the same color palette from the original logo as I don’t feel it was necessary to change. Here is what I came up with.
Logo Dissected
The focal point of this logo are the four characters in the upper most part. I decided to create this logotype by combining the two Chinese characters which are 面 (noodle) and 馍 (bun/burger) with their specific illustrations.
The logo is also quite versatile in nature and can be used in a variety of styles depending on the business and creative needs of the restaurant. Here are some examples of how the logo is also adaptable with many different colors and combinations. Moreover, the logo itself can be divided and used separately according to the needs. It is quite a versatile logo that has many possibilities!
Menu Design Exploration
Mock-ups
I designed these mockups to show how the logo can be reworked and utilized in many different ways.
