Maniac Studio’s colourful identity for Pez y Mar is a thoughtful evolution of what came before

Simply meaning ‘fish and sea,’ Pez y Mar is a seafood company with multiple restaurants and express kitchens located in the Mexican city of Mérida. Maniac Studio, also based in Mexico, were tasked with bringing their brand into the modern-day; leading to a contemporary and adaptable update that pays tribute to what came before it.

This brief gave Maniac Studio the idea to redraw Pez y Mar’s existing logo – a fish holding a plate while wearing a chef’s hat – resulting in a much more flexible and graphically appealing mark that works both on its own and as the ‘e’ within the brand’s wordmark.

“The previous logo had an outdated feeling,” they explain, “it felt weak and lacking in presence and personality,” while its red and green two-colour combination made it hard to use in a wide range of contexts. For the new logo, they focused on giving the fish as much character as possible; incorporating geometric shapes, round endings, clean strokes and a more solid structure. They go on to explain the intricacies of the design such as a more pronounced fin and tail, smaller mouth, larger eye and more expressive face; with the “icing on the cake” being the revised chef’s hat, which adds “some cuteness” to the thoughtful illustration.

Complementing the rounded forms of the logo is Maniac Studio’s contrasting choice of typefaces. Sharp Type’s rounded Cooper-esque serif Doyle leads the way for headlines and provides a playful retro vibe that stands apart from the stark sans serif approach to the brand’s wordmark.

Following the identity’s evolutionary theme, Pez y Mar’s new colour palette is an update of its previous red, green and white – with a subtle but crucial change. “The issue was that these colours are exactly the same as the Mexican flag and we wanted to avoid a patriotic feeling,” Maniac Studio reveal. As a result, they swapped the red for a bright orange and chose a darker shade of green. Together, as well as two softer, pastel colours, they provide Pez y Mar with a sophisticated combination of warmth and elegance.

Maniac Studio