DETAILS

Personal Project

Restaurant Entrepreneur

Graphic Designer
Illustrator
Packaging Designer

Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator

OVERVIEW

Ono, is a Baja-Hawaiian fusion restaurant based in San Diego, drawing on Mexican and Polynesian cuisine to make unique combinations of food and art. The project aims to draw in local families and young adults, ages 18–30, while still maintaining a strong connection with both cultures. A blend of funky graphics and bold colors are needed to connect the dots without falling into known or cliched interpretations of either cuisine.

TRANSLATION

The entire concept is based off of squares and modular elements. Injecting color fill shapes of food and animals unique to Baja and Hawaii fill the cubes, while a color palette of dusty sage and rosy coral are the anchor colors with accents of cream and brown. To avoid being cliche, tiki fonts were avoided, instead utilizing Azo Sans for its chunky friendliness and Gibson to maintain a clean line sans serif for body text. Icons made for the pattern are pulled out for coasters, menu illustrations and a series of posters. An ambigram logo ties them together as both a feature and a supporting element within the pattern and on printed materials.

HIGHLIGHTS

Best part of this project was the photoshoot. I bought pulled pork from a Hawaiian restaurant and a burrito and chips and salsa from a Mexican restaurant and at the end combined all of it together for a Hawaiexican plate of nachos.