Area
Hospitality
Breadth
Identity
Print
Digital
Signage
Art Direction
1930s art deco elegance
Shanghai Me transports you back to the city’s heyday in the 30s when it was a melting pot of different personalities, performers, cultures and cuisines – a place of prosperity and indulgence where ‘chambermaids could turn into princesses’. Influenced by the glamour of the art deco era, the brand celebrates this idea of transformation with a playful series of dual characters, with each one given a surreal Shanghai Me alter ego inspired by an animal from the Zodiac. The logo, which features Chinese and English typography, can be divided in half and rotated to reflect this state of transformation.
Monkey
Dog
Snake
Horse
Rooster
Ox
Pig
Rabbit
Ram
Rat
Tiger
Dragon
Monkey
Dog
Snake
Horse
Rooster
Ox
Pig
Rabbit
Ram
Rat
Tiger
Dragon
The 12 characters all have their own unique personality and we worked closely with illustrator Jonny Wan to bring each of them to life.
Informed by the branding concept, even the cocktails have an alter ego with two versions of each; one being the classic recipe and the other coming with a Shanghai Me twist.
The characters are rotated and seen in their alter-ego state for the moodier, ‘after hours’ lounge menu.
To complement the main illustrations, a series of abstract ‘animal print’ art deco patterns is used on the dessert and lunch menu covers as well as for decorative linings elsewhere.
An art deco inspired illustration of the iconic Shanghai skyline is foiled on to black leather for the wine menu.
Gambling was popular in 1930s Shanghai so for the bill holder all 12 characters have been turned into a set of playing cards with one given away in a bespoke walnut box at the end of each meal.
We commissioned and art directed photographer Carol Sachs to capture the restaurant’s interior and food. These images play a key role online and in social media.
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