Restaurant Branding
La Guarapachanga is a fictitious, Cuban American fusion restaurant located in Saint Augustine, FL. The restaurant focuses on dishes with Spanish names that are given English descriptions in the hopes of reconciling the perceived differences among the two cultures and showing how one culture might give a different name to a certain meal but ultimately, the food is the same and no one is so different after all. La Guarapachanga wants to be everyone’s go-to casual dining location.
Happiness, brightness, enjoyment—the branding for La Guarapachanga is supposed to make a potential patron feel all of these things. There is a mandatory quirk injected into the aesthetics of the brand. Cubans are fun-loving people while Americans can sometimes be described as more serious and reclusive. This dichotomy, by no means negative, is visually expressed by the blending of straight and organic lines, by the bright colors and stark black accents. There is a visible order to the madness, a grid within a sea of color. La Guarapachanga lives in a state of eternal flux that appeals to anyone and everyone.
La Guarapachanga is a hub for change, inclusivity and magic.
Left: Multipurpose business card and punch card
Right: Unisex server uniforms consisting of apron, trousers, and guayaberas, a traditional Cuban wear
Placemat utilizes short blurbs and simple icons as an interactive way for kids (and adults) to learn about Cuba
Plate design is meant to break the grid found in the menu and mat, it is a splash of unexpected color and artistry
Plate design is meant to break the grid found in the menu and mat, it is a splash of unexpected color and artistry
Various takeout containers
Photography Credits
Delaney Turner / Persnickety \ Alexander Kunze / Augustin de Montesquiou \ Liz / NapaneeGal \ Pedro Szekely
