Andrea Reza creates a nostalgic, lucid and lovable identity for yum cha restaurant Easy House

Encapsulating a sense of nostalgia without turning to retro-styling or graphic tropes, Andrea Reza’s undeniably lovable identity for Gold Coast-based yum cha restaurant Easy House boasts a desirable tactility. Following the vegan Chinese restaurant’s decade of business, Reza sought to bring a structural simplicity and graphic delightfulness to the brand without losing its seasoned, well-earned ‘Mom and Pop’ charisma – achieved through the playfulness of Andrea Christie’s illustrations and Reza’s typographic dexterity.

“I knew early on that I wanted to go with a more traditional, classic serif-like font for the Chinese characters,” the Jakarta-based creative tells us, “to be used prominently to reflect the long tradition behind yum cha,” opting for Adobe Fonts’ Fangsong to fit the bill. “I then paired it with Nimbus Sans No. 5,” courtesy of URW Type Foundry, Reza adds, “a bolder sans serif font that feels easy, inviting and timeless.” The Brand also features the tongue-in-cheek use of Comic Sans, bringing with it an undoubtedly sentimental quality.

Discussing the combination of Chinese and Latin script, Reza recalls, “it was challenging initially since I can’t read Chinese text,” he caveats, “but once we figured out the font pairing, things just fell into place,” praising the support he received from Easy House itself. “The client was super helpful in proofreading and helping with translation,” Reza adds, recognising the very humble, personable nature of the restaurant that he was visually embodying.

Discussing the colour palette, Reza explain that he “went with green as the quickest way possible for people to associate the restaurant with vegan food,” creating a bold, contrasting monotone visual language. “I also liked how people don’t usually see a bunny in green,” Reza concludes, “I love its immediate juxtaposition.”

Andrea Reza