CLIENT
MINA GroupBRIEF
Michael Mina and Ayesha Curry met and bonded over their shared love of food and basketball. Inspired by their travels, they decided to take traditional barbeque global with a new restaurant concept – International Smoke. It features barbeque styles from parts of Asia, South America, the United States, and more. The new brand needed to function across restaurant types – from fine dining to pop-ups with an amalgamation of sexy and playful wit.SOLUTION
“International” is comprised of various linguistic accents used in languages around the world, and the word “Smoke” is signed in sultry lipstick red. An angry bull, with smoke coming from his nostrils illustrates red-hot spice found in some dishes, and also has his tongue sticking out to represent their cheeky twist on traditional BBQ. The fast-casual concept gains inspiration from meat market signage, while both versions leverage sultry and alluring smoke photography speak to the experience.RESULTS
First introduced at the MINA Test Kitchen, it gained visitors such as Drake and, of course, the Warrior’s Steph Curry. The mocking bull was a fan favorite. It’s success launched the brand as an anchor tenant at MINA’s, The Street, in Hawaii. The restaurant has now expanded to a San Francisco fine dining experience, and will continue to grow into additional fine dining and fast casual environments.CLIENT
MINA GroupBRIEF
Michael Mina and Ayesha Curry met and bonded over their shared love of food and basketball. Inspired by their travels, they decided to take traditional barbeque global with a new restaurant concept – International Smoke. It features barbeque styles from parts of Asia, South America, the United States, and more. The new brand needed to function across restaurant types – from fine dining to pop-ups with an amalgamation of sexy and playful wit.
SOLUTION
“International” is comprised of various linguistic accents used in languages around the world, and the word “Smoke” is signed in sultry lipstick red. An angry bull, with smoke coming from his nostrils illustrates red-hot spice found in some dishes, and also has his tongue sticking out to represent their cheeky twist on traditional BBQ. The fast-casual concept gains inspiration from meat market signage, while both versions leverage sultry and alluring smoke photography speak to the experience.
RESULTS
First introduced at the MINA Test Kitchen, it gained visitors such as Drake and, of course, the Warrior’s Steph Curry. The mocking bull was a fan favorite. It’s success launched the brand as an anchor tenant at MINA’s, The Street, in Hawaii. The restaurant has now expanded to a San Francisco fine dining experience, and will continue to grow into additional fine dining and fast casual environments.
