Maxwells Trading | Restaurant Brand Identity
City food by city kids.
Chef Erling Wu-Bower & Josh Tilden of Underscore Hospitality reached out to Hifi in early 2023 to develop the brand identity for an ambitious new restaurant concept: Maxwells Trading. Still a dream on paper, the project would be nestled into the wilds of the Kinzie Industrial Corridor in Chicago. The building would become a true communal space and home to various businesses including The Roof Crop, where many of Chef Wu-Bowers’ ingredients would be sustainably grown.
The partners imagined an intimately lit neighborhood spot where they themselves would want to sit back, sip a gin, spin some soul, and pass the time with closest family and friends.
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Naming
Positioning
Branding
Tone of Voice
Menu Design
Signage Design
Website Design
Staff Fit / Apparel
Collateral
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Challenges were inherent in many aspects of the project that made it so special. The menu does not fit into a category. The experience is both very elevated, and very casual. The building is multipurpose. The neighborhood is on the fringe of the West Loop and the Kedzie Industrial Corridor. A multitude of blended contradictions begged to be explored. Working with the partners who are themselves true music lovers, it came down to a process that felt something like choosing just the right song, at just the right time.
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After nailing down the name “Maxwells Trading” representing Wu-Bowers’ son’s namesake and the exchange of ideas, goods, & services that would take place on the corner – the hunt for an identity system that could encompass it all was underway. Ultimately, location became the guiding inspiration. The building and neighborhood itself served as the roots which would grow the experiences to be had within. Two peaks of the greenhouses in which ingredients are grown form a graphic “M,” and house the growth of ingredients and good times to be had within. The rest of the visual system is inspired by music. Vintage Jazz and soul album covers set the tone for the restrained yet playful expressions that grew into the visual identity.
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The Best New Restaurants in America, 2024 - Esquire
Best New Restaurant, 2024 - Eater Chicago
Readers’ Choice:
Best New Restaurants - Infatuation ChicagoThe 10 Best New Restaurants in America, Ranked - Robb Report
Six Chicago Restaurants Have been Added to the Michelin Guide - TimeOut Chicago
The 25 Best Restaurants in Chicago Right Now - New York Times
Maxwells Trading is One of Chicago's Best New Restaurants - Craines Chicago Business
The Best Restaurants in Chicago You Have to Try in 2024 - TimeOut Chicago
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Paul Demyanovich - Creative Director
Allison Rosenwinkel - Creative Director, Illustration
Simi Mahtani - Designer
Jeff Marini - Food PhotographyWade Hall - Apparel Photography
Week of the Website - Web Development
Stock Manufacturing - Apparel
Right Way Signs - Signage Fabrication
“The 10 Best New Restaurants in America, Ranked”
“The location became the guiding inspiration behind the logo, where the neighborhood and building itself served as the roots which would grow the experiences to be had within.”
— Paul Demyanovich, Owner HiFi Brands
The branding for Maxwells was designed with the intention of letting the food and experience take the lead.
“‘It's the food that we want to eat and the food we want to cook,’ Wu-Bower said. ‘You want to cook the food that you've experienced, you want to cook who you've become, and that's what we do here.’”
— Erling Wu-Bower, Chef & Owner, Maxwells Trading, Excerpt from article in Chicago Business
