Puerto Rican Cantina
Restaurant Branding Spring 2022
Padre is a speculative Puerto Rican Cantina that provides authentic Puerto Rican cuisine in an alternative environment, pulling largely from American Traditional tattoo culture. The inspiration for Padre is pulled from personal history and real life Padre, Lenny Ortiz, a first generation Puerto Rican born and raised in Brooklyn’s rock ’n’ roll scene. The cantina is an amalgamation of Lenny’s alternative aesthetic and Puerto Rican heritage.
Finalist in AIGA Flux Design Competition 2024, Branding Category
Logo Development
Padre’s logo mark was developed by taking inspiration from American Traditional and Sailor Jerry tattoo flash in the form of the swallow. The star within the triangular shaped tail of the swallow suggests the same qualities found in the Puerto Rican flag. The chosen color palette is a twist on the red, white, and blue hues of both the American and Puerto Rican flags, which represent both countries and cultures embodied by Padre. The logo font was chosen because of its reference to tattoo design and because of the upwards flourish that occurs within the characters that resembles that of a bird’s tail feathers.
Website & Collateral
The website design for Padre incorporated stock imagery of Puerto Rican food (courtesy of Unsplash) treated in low lighting to continue the moodier theme of the restaurant. The custom flash-inspired graphics and menu design appear throughout the website to create cohesion in the brand identity. Both the website design and collateral products for Padre also utilize copy such as “Fresh as Hell” and “Ya gotta die from somethin’” to give personality and humor to the brand, strengthening the relationship between Padre the restaurant and Padre the real life muse.
Conclusion
The speculative Puerto Rican Cantina, Padre, is a very personal concept. Meant to study and explore the complexity of experience of first generation immigrants, Padre contains multitudes and exemplifies the fusion of cultures that is often the reality of families settling in the United States. Padre represents the sense of enlightenment and belonging within art and music cultures, while still holding family and their traditions close to the chest. For some, Padre is the feeling of home.