Magpie Studio | Straits Kitchen Design

posted by Emily Gosling October 5, 2021

Magpie Studio is behind the designs for new Singaporean restaurant Straits Kitchen, drawing inspiration from the idea of a “melting pot of cultures.”

The restaurant is based in the Pan Pacific Hotel in Liverpool Street, east London, serving a menu inspired by The Straits of Malacca, a narrow stretch of water through which traders and neighbours have been bringing ingredients into Singapore for centuries.

Magpie Studio’s “layered” identity draws on that idea of mixing various cultures, traditions and cuisines, playing out in elements such as collages layered with patterns and handwritten stories.

The agency was briefed to create an identity that tells the story of Singapore and its influences, creating the sense that the restaurant was a “destination” that evoked “the experience of how you would eat in Singapore.

“The identity needs to tell the story of this melting pot of cuisines and teach people something new about these recipes passed down through generations,” says Magpie Studio, which adds that its designs looked to “tread the line between the sensory excitement of hawker markets and the high-end hotel.”

As such it uses multiple patterns, colours and textures to help give a “visual flavour of the region.” The logo draws on the curved, narrow shape of The Straits of Malacca, which is combined with the idea of ‘the chop’, a red inked stamp that’s used as a form of signature in many Asian countries.

The studio decided on a warm, friendly tone of voice for the branding, aiming to evoke the idea of recipes shared authentically from person to person and down the generations. “An open, genuine sharing of knowledge and story brings chatter and informality to the high-end restaurant, as well as giving diners a window into a world they may never have experienced, or a home they might miss dearly,” Magpie Studio explains.

The restaurant opened on 1 September.