Zooba is an Egyptian street food restaurant based in Cairo. Their food is a modern twist on traditional classics. With the opening of their first store in NYC, they came to &Walsh for a new brand identity. Inspiration came from the beauty of the layered visuals of Cairo streets: the hand-painted typography on food carts, geometric patterned tapes, mix & matched colored tiles, posters, and painted illustrations on walls.

Professional or Personal
Professional

Creative Discipline
Graphic Design

Role in Project
I was the lead designer on this project, working from the first concepts to final key-visuals, restaurant mural, and final client deliverables.
I started this branding process by drawing the custom type for Zooba’s logo, mixing shapes from Arabic calligraphy and Latin characters. From there, the concept evolved to merging Cairo with New York City, the location of their newest restaurant. Visuals take inspiration from geometric patterns and colors found in the streets of Cairo. It is a flexible brand identity that combines a custom typeface with hand-painted Arabic that is often seen on food trucks in Egypt. The identity includes patterns, illustrations, and frames, making it easy to apply the assets across many surfaces and materials.

Project Credits
Lead Design: Gabriela Namie
Creative Direction: Jessica Walsh
Design team: Soomin Jung, Elinor O'Brien
Type Design: Gabriela Namie, Junki Hong
Illustration: Zak Tebbal and Aleksandra Apaza
Arabic Calligraphy: Mohamed Mohamed (Zizo)
Animation: Jonah Nigro and Danaé Gosset
Photography: Sarah Hopp
Prop Design: Arielle Casale
Mural Painters: Kelly Li, Elizabeth Levy, Timothy Khalifa
Zooba Creative Team: Adam Mourad, Omar Mobarek
Copywriting: Stephanie Halovanic, Farah Kafei