Building a community hub with branding and spatial design
Project
We collaborated with Bar Robo to launch a dynamic café and bar in Ottawa’s Chinatown, transforming it into a vibrant community hub. Our work included developing the brand from the ground up: creating the name, logo, website, and marketing materials, as well as providing operational support by connecting the business with its first chef, bartender, baristas, and music programming team. With its unique blend of coffee, cocktails, snacks, and shows, Bar Robo quickly became a local favorite. Though it has since relocated to Queen Street Fare, the brand continues to reflect the creativity and eclectic spirit we helped shape.
Icon
The Bar Robo logo was designed to be dynamic, inviting, fresh. The slight rotation of an otherwise measured icon gave it a slightly playful edge.
The branding work included the creation of an icon set for use on social and window coverings during construction.
The Lisbon sign was purchased from a building down the street, and brought the neighbourhood into the cafe as an iconic backdrop for concerts and coffee dates.
Industry Recognition
Our work on Bar Robo was featured as a "new and noteworthy" project in Applied Arts the following year.