Panzón, which roughly translates as ‘potbelly’, is a Brooklyn-based, Mexico City-inspired mezcal bar and restaurant located in Greenpoint. The team behind the new opening had a deep appreciation for the beauty and grittiness of CDMX, along with the city’s “if you know, you know culture”, according to Saint Urbain.

Based out of New York and LA, but with a few team members based down in Mexico City as well, the studio felt well placed to draw on the city’s distinctive visual culture for the branding.

They began the design process by seeking out inspiration from the Mexican capital’s rich visual history of street culture, graffiti and signage, and were particularly drawn to the hand-drawn shop logos and down-to-earth colours.

To bring Mexico City’s dining and drinking culture to life, the studio created a visual language that is casual yet playful, with a hand-drawn logo at the heart. To complement the logo, a font system inspired by industrial, everyday worker prints was introduced.

The identity also celebrates the story of Chef Alfredo, affectionately known to everyone else as Panzón. “We created an adorable, short, and stubby cartoon blob with a potbelly to represent Chef Alfredo’s love of food and his larger-than-life personality,” says Saint Urbain.

In turn, the cute design has become Panzón’s official cartoon mascot, featuring prominently across its branding, packaging, menu designs, and other collateral.

sainturbain.com