Yachi (Ya Chee) is the Taiwanese Hokkien for night market.
The goal with Yachi was to reintroduce the nightlife culture into the Hastings Sunrise area, because of the area's negative safety reputation, particularly after dark. By attracting a younger demographic to the area, encouraging them to visit with friends at night, it not only creates liveliness but also improves safety through increased surveillance as people look out for one another. Yachi’s unique selling point is offering an authentic taste of Taiwanese night markets with the traditional dishes and desserts, live cooking, and a vibrant, communal atmosphere, creating an unforgettable cultural experience.
Yachi's target audiences are SFU students who passes by the area when commuting to and from the university, and working individual around the area who are looking for a quick meal or places to hang out afterwork.
It is a contemporary interpretation of the traditional name seal often seen in Taiwanese and Chinese brands, typically using red ink. This type of stamp is commonly perceived as an emblem logo.
In contrast, Yachi's logo takes a predominantly circular form, differentiating from the traditional stamps. The stamp features a dual arrangement: Chinese characters aligned on one side and the English on the other. The two keywords that should describe the logo are inviting and engaging.
The stamp features a dual arrangement: Chinese characters aligned on one side and the English on the other. This conveys a modern ambiance at the restaurant with subtle influences from its cultural roots. A round table in the Taiwanese and Chinese culture is a place where family and friends gather around to eat, like the shape itself, it symbolizes balance, harmony, and connections. Additionally, the circular form conveys the imagery of an open mouth, with the teeth at the top, signifying the restaurant as a welcoming place for people to dine. I added a rectangle at the top to achieve a sense of balance in weight and straight line elements within the composition. This addition also symbolizes teeth, giving the logo an overall imagery of an open mouth.
The wordmark was a customized typeface taken from the logo. It is useful for anything that requires legibility and readability of the brand such as label, web, and store signage. Moreover, because Yachi is a foreign language, it would be hard to remember if it is within the logo, so by taking it out, it makes the brand easier to remember.
The wordmark uses a custom font created from the rounded elements in the logo. All letters are in uppercase with a tall cap height for easy reading.
The color palette draws inspiration from the vibrant hues of the night market. Red symbolizes the neon lights commonly found on stall signage against white light boxes. Yellow, reminiscent of the inviting glow cast on food, adds appeal and a shining quality to the overall ambiance.
The primary typeface is Brevia, a contemporary typeface that was chosen for its mellow, friendly appearance and a range of unique weights. The typeface has a straight, large x-height, and smooth curvature structure which makes it highly legible even in small sizes and eye-catching from far. Brevia is ideal for menu, packaging, sinage, and any other communication materials. Personally, the Taiwanese night market experience is homely yet intriguing feeling, and Brevia has a good balance between the two.
The secondary is Museo Sans, a sturdy, geometric typeface that has three different variation: regular, rounded, and condensed. The typeface is commonly used as body text because of the wide range of versatile styles which complements different headings easily. Even as a heading, Museo Sans is also highly legible. It pairs nicely with most Chinese typefaces as well. The rounded version also conveys similar characteristics as Brevia, except Museo Sans is more modern and strict by nature, so it will most likely be used for food description or signage.
Building and maintaining consistency with our brand has been an ongoing challenge in this project. The toughest part is navigating between creating something new that aligns with Yachi and generic designs that make the brand look cheap. I came to the realization that I was too focused on a single pattern, almost like having tunnel vision. That's when I found the right balance for the stationary package—using simple lines and forms that break free from the limitations of just one pattern, and it elevated and enriched the brand's expression and personality.
