Cocodrilo

BRAND IDENTITY • BRAND EXTENSIONS • WEB CONSULTATION

OVERVIEW

Cocodrilo was a startup restaurant that specialized in Latin American dishes, chef-driven menus, and a humongous wood-fire oven. Prior to another ad agency developing more advertising and online experiences, I set out to create a brand design that aligned to the owners' vision and could lead future in-store moments.

MY ROLE

Brand identity
Art direction
Print design
Design consultation

THE TEAM

I led the design efforts, presenting directly to the owners and lead chefs for Cocodrilo. Some of them also worked with me on River City Roll.

TIMELINE

Sept 2021 — Jan 2022

CHALLENGES

PROCESS

While a crocodile's involvement was mentioned, the design style was not specified, which posed a challenge. To address this, I created multiple concepts to establish alignment and progress with symbol refinements and typography.

The selected logo concept features a crocodile bending backwards, which creates a sun shape in the negative space. This aligns with the client's vision of promoting the concept that every day brings new menu options and flavors to discover.
 

SYMBOL REFINEMENTS

• I balanced the artwork within the square, and the circle cuts to establish a more realistic crocodile body.

• I detailed to the croc's snout, mouth and eyeshape.

• I created badge shape to contain symbol and wordmark.

I collaborated with the client to create a wordmark that incorporated clever design elements to assist users in pronouncing the company's name.
 

WORDMARK REFINEMENTS

• I selected a font that works well with all lower-case to match client expectations.

• We added a dot motif to separate syllables for readability.
  

• In the end, we opted to remove the accent over the "i" to avoid confusion.

I worked closely with Cocodrilo's interior design team to ensure that the brand reflected the aesthetics of the restaurant. As the logo design progressed, I developed brand guidelines to communicate the brand identity to other clients and vendors.

To create our brand colors, I leveraged my design expertise by carefully selecting shades and tints for each color. This allowed me to create a cohesive and visually appealing palette that aligns with our brand identity.

Additionally, I strategically included color steps above and below the selected colors to ensure accessibility and flexibility in various design applications.
 

RESULTS

Beyond the logo design, I collaborated with the Cocodrilo lead chef to design in-store brand materials and arrange templates for their production processes. Cocodrilo and it's wood-fire oven fired up in Spring 2022.

Providing expertise for visual design needs, including illustration, product design, and campaign marketing.