Karlvin and Isabelle are both foodies. When they couldn’t find any restaurant that offers both their favorite food: Vietnamese banh mi and Taiwanese boba, they decided to open their own. Their restaurant locates in where they live, Chatswood, Sydney, NSW. xolve was approached to craft the identity for this unique restaurant concept.
Before opening the store, Karlvin and Isabelle both traveled to the birthplace of Banh mi, Hoi an. There, they learned and mastered the craft of baking banh mi from the local bakers. The next stop was Taiwan, where they learn the art of tea serving.
The name Banh and Boba is quite straight-forward. Banh is short for Banh mi roll and Boba, which is another term for bubble tea. All Band and Boba ingredients are prepared in house to ensure the best quality. The recipes for the food are also quite unique compared to the other restaurant in Sydney.
For the logo, xolve team came up with a simple yet bold and striking wordmark that has resemblance to the shape of banh mi and boba teacup. The handwriting ‘and’ connects ‘Banh’ and ‘Boba’ and imply the passion and craftsmanship of the two artisanal founders. The oval shape of the logo is also a store architectural element, which designed by local design firm, Arkitekt.
One of the challenges for the design team was how to combine the elements of banh mi and boba seamlessly. The solution was to illustrate the simplified geometry shapes of band and boba and create a set of patterns. The patterns are used across the applications, from print to digital. For the color palette, a sweet and juicy pastel mint shade is used. Silver gray and light pink are used as accent colors.
