Marrow

An elegant and ambitious project, Marrow is a butcher shop & restaurant hybrid in Detroit's West Village. Our goal was to balance both the approachability of a neighborhood butcher shop with the aspiration you might expect from a James Beard nominated restaurant. We spent time with Ping Ho, the visionary founder, discussing her hopes for the restaurant, listening to her memories of the Singapore "wet market" she visited as a child with her grandmother, and together determining a look and feel for this new spot.

The branding package was heavily inspired by butcher shop signage of the past. The logo wordmark consists of custom typography, inspired by vintage letterforms from archival butcher shop photographs. That same nostalgic charm is brought to life through secondary graphics (posters and post cards), based on hand-painted artwork by local sign-painter Craig Akin. The color palette is a mixture of neutrals and green accents to highlight the sustainability mission of the brand. The logo on the exterior of the restaurant was hand-painted in gold leaf by Motown Sign Co.

The restaurant quickly became a destination, and while we would like to take all the credit, it was probably either the capicola or the NY strip.

Award - Graphis Design Annual 2020