Logo Design and Corporate Identity for ShiDa Casha Bar & Restaurant.

Shi Da Casha is a Russian restaurant housed in the ground floor of the Butterfly on Prat Hotel in Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui. The restaurant, which opened in May 2009, serves traditional Russia cuisine rich in poultry, fish, and grain such as blinchiki, the chicken “tabaca”, beef stroganoff, smoked duck breast, and Pickled Herring in beet juice.

Shi, in Russian, means “broccoli soup”, while Casha means “a meal made from buckwheat or oats”. According to Shi Da Casha’s owner, a native of Moscow, Hong Kong’s culinary landscape is dotted with several Russian restaurants. So, the chief chef was brought in from The Moscow Kremlin to bring an authentic flavor to the dishes served and offer an overwhelming spread of dishes.

To extend the traditional concept to interior and menu decoration, Shi Da Casha came to us. The task was simple yet challenging: design the exteriors and complete range of stationery for the restaurant using classical art and décor elements from the Soviet era.

After extensive research, I zeroed in on using Khokhloma, which is a style of Russian wood painting well known for its vibrant flower patterns in red and gold colors over black background. This unique form of painting is usually done on cheap and light wooden tableware. The bright colors in distinct patterns lend a rich, metallic and glamorous look to the tableware.

My first task on the project was to use this traditional art to design a logo for Shi Da Casha. The client bought an antique book describing the Khokhloma art and suggested that this flower be incorporated in the design. But, it was hard to find the perfect balance between the traditional and modern elements. Too much of the old floral patterns tilted the design towards antiquity. After a few trials, I designed this logo with the red and black flower pattern inspired from the ancient style with the “Da”. The client loved the contemporary logo with a Russian touch to it.

In the second stage of the project, I created a pattern for the walls. Isn’t it a riot of colors? As the client felt the original red color in the design was too bold and aggressive, I interchanged the yellows and reds to result in this bright, striking design.

The final stage of the project was to create the complete range of stationery for the restaurant. It was a straightforward task of placing the logo on business cards, letter heads and envelopes. The high point of this project is the impressive logo. I positioned the eye-catching visuals strategically on every piece of stationery in a way that it caught the attention of the viewer but was not distracting.