Manok ni Baste (“Baste’s chicken” in Filipino, pronounced “mah-NOHK nee bahs-TEH”) is a family-owned chain of rotisserie stalls in the Philippines. Named after my grandfather, Sebastian, it was launched in 2018 with its first branch in Fairview, Quezon City. Since then, it has opened additional branches in Manila, Marikina City, Quezon City and Cavite City, with more branches to follow in provincial areas.

Like its competitors, it mainly serves lechong manok (roasted chicken), sold in sweet glazed, garlic lemongrass and Pinoy-style flavors, and liempo (roasted pork belly). Other offerings include chicken sandwiches, rice meals and local favorites like sisig and tinumis.

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Approach

Clucking Up a Storm

Lechong manok stalls are staples of Filipino culture, especially among the CDE market or masa. As Manok ni Baste is new to the industry, the goal is to create a unique identity that appeals to the masa without blending too much with its competitors.

The Manok ni Baste identity strikes a balance between what looks familiar and what feels new. It adopts tried-and-tested visual tropes in mainstream food branding while leaving some wiggle room for graphic experimentation.

Identity

Blended to Perfection

The rest of the identity uses a color scheme inspired by the interplay between fire and charcoal. It also pairs together two distinct typefaces: a brash, mechanical blackletter and a quirky humanist monospace.

Key Visual

A Little Extra Something

Every dish has that star ingredient that enhances its flavors and gives it that memorable taste. If the rest of Manok ni Baste’s identity had one, it would be this recurring graphic device created from the M shape within the icon.

The shape serves as a basis for backgrounds, arrows and pointers for signages and maps, and call-to-action badges for emphasizing content in social media and advertising materials.