The Edit: five new projects including Milu by Saint-Urbain

Each and every day, we're lucky to discover dozens of interesting and inspiring projects from around the world. From global identities and campaigns to side projects and independently published books, The Edit is home to five of them; every two weeks. Located in the heart of Manhattan just a few blocks from Madison Square Park, fast-casual restaurant Milu (pronounced mee-loo) serves up a menu packed with modern takes on traditional, regional Chinese flavours. Tasked with branding the restaurant upon its launch, local creative agency Saint-Urbain developed a visual identity that balances authenticity with wholesome contemporary elegance. At the beginning of the process, they immediately took a liking to the double meaning of Milu (米路), which literally means ‘rice road’ while sounding similar to the Chinese words for ‘getting lost’ (迷路). As a result, the identity embraces traditional Chinese illustration to create a multi-faceted world for customers to become immersed within. Inspired by historic Hong Kong-style cafés and their cultural significance in serving affordable Canto-Western cuisine, the visual language is equally warm and whimsical as it is stylishly refined. Established initially in the early parts of 2020 as an experimental creative outlet for its founders, Taichung-based visual design studio aether³ has since expanded to offer branding, art direction, digital and typographic services commercially. Aiming to match their multi-disciplinary nature, their visual identity adopts a multi-faceted combination of typefaces alongside an unusual, otherworldly selection of symbols. Despite what they represent not being revealed, the symbols add a layer of character, quirk and outright peculiarness to the otherwise minimalistic approach.