Mesoamerican meets Mexican pop culture in Manifiesto’s minimal visual and brand design for Mexican restaurant ‘Chilaritos’.

Chilaritos is a restaurant in Mexico City, specializing in "Chilaquiles", a classic and popular Mexican meal elaborated with fried corn tortilla pieces and accompanied by spicy sauce and cheese.

The visual identity, developed by Mexican design studio Manifiesto, combines Mesoamerican elements with Mexican pop culture, translated into a contemporary illustrated style. Playful line drawings depict Mesoamerican figures as characters enjoying Chilaritos dishes, while a chunky font illustrated with black outlines in a bold 3D style takes central focus against the plain white background.

The use of simple black lines on a bright white base colour scheme gives the brand their own visual language. Where other brands opt for a more traditionally colourful design, Chilaritos do the opposite, allowing the vibrant natural colours of the dishes to stand out.

The brand name ‘Chilaritos’, also developed by Manifiesto, plays on the restaurant’s dish speciality "chilaquiles", providing a casual and fun version of the original word but also stands out from other names within the popular market. This is further reflected in the triangular business cards, complete with ridged edges, playfully replicating the same form as the Corn Tortilla.

For more information about Manifiesto’s design visit their website or follow them on Instagram .

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