moth·er ship /ˈməT͟Hər SHip/ noun
1) a home base, a headquarters; 2) a place to which people return often; 3) a launch pad from where great ideas are sent into the world
For a restaurant, communicating its unique personality is directly related to its success. The brand identity tells guests how trendy, traditional, casual, or formal the restaurant is – and why they should choose it over others. It creates the story that will be told not only through the restaurant’s marketing, but also translated across the physical manifestation of its interiors, flatware, signage, website, and menus.
Revival Cafe + Kitchen co-founders Liza Shirazi and chef Steve “Nookie” Postal asked LLM Design to help develop a brand identity for Mothership, their new restaurant in Cambridgepark Drive, that will focus on testing novel food concepts along with a variety of craft beers. They wanted their restaurant brand to be casual and playful, but still modern and clean. Not over designed. Classic, but open to pushing limits.
Inevitably, the word “mothership” leads people to thoughts of outer space. While this isn’t the main concept of our design, we give a nod to the celestial realm through a half-moon icon within the “o” of the graphic mark. This lunar shape also serves to represent Mothership as a cyclical space where people come to restart, regenerate – and complete their days. The Futura font, with is modern sharpness and metro vibe, relates to the Cambridge community, an audience with both urban and rural sides.
We don’t, however, overtly explore the spatial theme; instead, we bring in an eartly, organic-turned-geometric pattern of plants from both of our brand textures.
The color palette is inspired by the founders’ love of vibrant, playful colors – and the feelings of comfort and familiarity they induce while still being bold and out of the box.
Of course, the Mothership brand wasn’t complete without a good messaging narrative. Again, the key was to be relaxed, welcoming, and approachable. “Eat. Sip. Hang.” It doesn’t take guests long to understand what Mothership is all about.
We can’t wait for Mothership to open so we can see the brand in action and stop by to eat, sip, and hang for a few.