Dripping with character: 27b crafts a punchy brand world for pop-up restaurant Kokoro Amsterdam

When 27b began working on the identity for the Japanese pop-up restaurant Kokoro, it wanted to create a brand that would stand apart in the busy food scene in Amsterdam. “The goal was to develop a distinctive brand that reflects the creative spirit of Kokoro’s team, while intentionally avoiding cultural clichés and any form of appropriation,” says Co-founder & Design Director Flavien Guilbaud. “Many ramen and sushi shops in Amsterdam and throughout Europe rely on Japanese symbolism to attract their audience and set expectations about their cuisine. At Kokoro, however, we embrace the opportunity to innovate through their pop-up concept. By daring to break away from tradition, we’ve created a fun, hand-drawn typeface that pays homage to calligraphy while incorporating a modern, funky twist.” The slightly askew, undulating wordmark – based on PicNic by Mariel Nils – brings much of the identity’s character. While it shows up confidently across many touchpoints, the team realised they could also use a shorter version of it, to be used as a graphic mark. They found an answer in the ‘ORO’ characters, so they extracted it from the wordmark to create a logo of a face which became a succinct stamp. “This approach not only simplifies the complexity of the main logotype, but also maintains a connection to it by preserving the ‘ORO’ in its authentic form,” Guilbaud tells us. Kokoro’s concept of a series of pop-up events – each featuring a carefully curated menu – gave the team more space to play with its design. In response to its format, 27b created a reusable pink sleeve which can carry the menu for each pop-up. “It was essential to create something that captures the spirit of Kokoro – easy to transport and visually striking on the serving table. The innovative sleeve reflects their commitment to sustainability and is designed for reuse at each event, with only the menu changing,” explains Guilbaud. Embossed with the logo, the pink sleeve almost becomes a unique keepsake.