There’s a few elements to unpack in the new wordmark for Pei Plus, a Korean and Chinese restaurant based in Madrid which has just undergone a rebrand. You might notice the mark’s rounded curves, which reference the plumpness of a good dumpling. Or the considerable contrast between weights – if you’re prepared to take a leap of faith with us, those crossbars begin to look awfully like a neat central fold line found on a dumpling too.
This careful combo of elements is the handiwork of Lucía Peralta and Marco Cofrades, the graphic designers Pei Plus tapped for its rebrand. “The aim was to create a contemporary and sleek, yet light-hearted and delightful visual identity,” the pair says.
Before Lucía and Marco got involved, the restaurant had used some hand-painted signage. The new brand identity manages to keep hold of some of that homeliness, while combining it with specific modern references. Certain touchpoints, like the merch for example, are reminiscent of early Apple marketing with a large condensed serif header pasted over brand photography – you can read a bit more about the return of that visual here. But Lucía and Marco have opted to warm up any white that you’d traditionally expect to see in this context. The designers say the dusty beige that appears throughout instead references the primary ingredients of dumpling dough: flour and water.
