Antique meets industrial in high-end restaurant rebrand

Prolific Mexican studio Anagrama has added another superb entry to its portfolio with branding for a new high-end restaurant.

El Montero is a restaurant located in Saltillo Coahuila, a city very close to Mexico’s northern border. The brief covered extensive branding, including packaging for gift sets that the restaurant sells, interior designs, stationery, opening night invitations, wine bottle labels, menus and signage for the restaurant.

All these elements were carefully designed to reflect the area’s heritage.

Saltillo Coahuila is sometimes known as the Athens of Mexico, given its intellectual past, but also the Detroit of Mexico due to it being a manufacturing centre for the likes of Mercedes Benz, General Motors and Chrysler. This unusual mixture of academia and industry creates a unique atmosphere that Anagrama sought to reflect in its design.

"Its kitchen represents the restaurant’s surroundings, as it is located on one of Mexico’s deserts," explains Anagrama’s Miguel Angel Herrera. "El Montero’s menu is inspired by regional food, integrating elements from contemporary kitchens.

"Our job as brand developers was to create a personality where we could glorify traditional kitchen values, making the most of regional raw materials.

"For the interiors, we developed a project where antique elements could be combined with modern objects, allowing the space to communicate its gastronomical concept."

This showcase was originally published in Computer Arts issue 208.

Also read!

• The art of magazine covers - 20 incredible examples
• Fold the front page! New iPad papercraft app - click here
• 10 awesome examples of brochure design