tapau, a southeast asian takeway
introduction
created for my university branding & identity module in year 2, this project focuses on translating the tactile essence of south-east asian street food into a scalable brand identity complete with sustainable packaging and a bold, functional typographic language.tapau is situated in a fast-paced city where authentic flavors are easy to but are inconvenient to the wallet, tapau is a hypothetical takeaway brand designed to bridge the gap between authenticity and that convenience.
the logo type
the logo is a custom logo-type. in order to make the brand feel loud and fast as the food it stands for. the sharp edges and weird rhythm are on purpose it’s a bit chaotic, but still holds together, just like a proper street food stall.
the logo exploration
i explored a wide range of directions. hand-drawn gestural marks, condensed serif logotypes, modular grid-based letterforms, circular badge formats, and
“asian-influenced” constructions. some felt raw and aggressive, others minimal and clean. i was deliberately exhausting possibilities before committing to one direction.
i explored a wide range of directions — hand-drawn gestural marks, condensed serif logotypes, modular grid-based letterforms, circular badge formats, and cyrillic-influenced constructions. some felt raw and aggressive, others minimal and clean. i was deliberately exhausting possibilities before committing to one direction.
the color palette
draws from the sights you'd actually see on the street hawker stall awnings, hand-painted market signs so it reads as real before you even register why.
to keep things visually approachable, those colors sit alongside a print pattern that works a bit like a travel diary: stamp motifs layered over backgrounds inspired by old kopitiam tiles. together, they pull the restless energy of southeast asian street culture into something that holds together. the result feels lived-in rather than designed which is exactly the point.
print pattern
the packagingevery format built to survive the journey. the bag, the noodle box, the cup, the chopstick wrap carries the same visual language. sustainable materials that hold up in transit without losing the identity. paper stock with the green & cream kopitiam tile color print. two colors throughout. the restraint makes the identity feel intentional, not accidental.
what i learnt
i didnt just learn the base to branding, but also what goes behind in order to build a brand, the research. i also understoon how to design something that feels found, not made. how a typeface carries attitude. how color builds memory before meaning. how a pattern can become a world.
i didnt just learn the base to branding, but also what goes behind in order to build a brand, the research. i also understoon how to design something that feels found, not made. how a typeface carries attitude. how color builds memory before meaning. how a pattern can become a world.
potential brand photography style