Nic & Junior's

Branding • Illustration • Fine Art • Layout
Studio: Canales & Co • Creative Director: Jose Canales
Additional design & DIRECTION by JEN LIGHT, WILL CHAU, AND THE whole foods internal creative TEAM
Studio: Canales & Co • Creative Director: Jose Canales
Studio: Canales & Co • Creative Director: Jose Canales
INTERIORS BY CHEYENNE BRADFORD AND CHRISTINA CANALES
PHOTOS BY Daniel Kellhegan
Nic & Junior are two chefs from different backgrounds with a shared dream. Duas Almas, Una Visione: two souls, one vision, and a need for great design to match. Fittingly, I worked hand-in-hand with the Canales interiors team to bring a new vision to life through branding, collateral, and spaces, drawing inspiration from Brazil, Italy, and folklore to create something that feels timeless while being entirely new.

The Purpose

Nic & Junior brought us a story that was only getting started. While the chefs have a long friendship and Italian (Nic) and Brazilian (Junior) heritage, they did not want the restaurant to be defined by what they had done before. With room to write, I needed to craft a perspective that both acknowledged their roots while feeling new, designed to surprise and delight diners - just like their inventive and always-evolving menu.

The Process

To capture a sense of history while avoiding being boxed in by it, I concepted and developed a folklore-inspired narrative, tapping into a tradition that is fun and fluid in the way it's shared over time to reflect the chefs' culinary approach. With this foundation, I utilized recognizable motifs like personality-filled animals and hand-done (like, with brushes and carving tools, not an Apple pencil) illustration to fill the whole brand experience with rich narrative and moments of delight, from coasters to lampshades to the ceilings and everything in between.

The Result

The heart of the brand is defined by a fully custom wordmark and an icon featuring a Brazilian parrot and an Italian wolf, nodding to the chefs in an IYKYK way without playing into expected or overwrought symbols. These characters appear throughout the space, interacting together in different ways on exteriors, menus, and wallpapers. A rich and elegant palette and carefully considered application of the brand maintained a high-end experience while allowing an undercurrent of whimsy and fun. To fully realize the idea and level of craft we wanted with our interiors team, I painted 5 lampshades, linocut printed a massive drum shade, and painted a large landscape to be printed as a ceiling wallpaper (ceilingpaper?) to infuse the space with unexpected and thoughtful moments of fun.

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