Mantis v.1
for Nacelle

In 2017 I was approached by Nacelle about creating the visual identity for a new restaurant and bar in Garden City, Cairo. They had already settled on the name Mantis, which opened up many ideas for the direction of the brand identity. Mantises are very versatile and adaptable creatures; they exist in varied ecosystems and can camouflage very impressively to blend into their environment. They also symbolize guidance in certain ancient cultures including ancient Egyptian culture, where they were believed to be guides in the journey into eternal life. Mantises also molt (shed their exoskeleton) as they grow and so they can be thought of as a representation of growth and renewal.

The concept we ultimately chose to focus on was that of adaptability. For the logo I modified the M from the selected typeface to vaguely mimic the arms/ stance of a mantis. I then took this shape and developed a pattern that runs through the entire visual identity, tying it all together. The logo is dynamic, with 4 different versions, referencing the adaptability of the mantis: it can be convex or concave and can fit into any corner of a page/ post/ design element.

In terms of color we chose to open up the palette to any shade of green, paired with black and white. The green, of course, comes from the mantis itself (although they come in various colors, but to my mind the first association is green) and also symbolizes richness and renewal - qualities that are in correspondence with the type of space we wanted to create with Mantis. Not having set colors for the brand felt like a good way to create a more relaxed and fluid brand identity and to break from the rigidity of more traditional notions of branding. It also paired well with the theme of adaptability and camouflage.

Overall the brand communicated an upscale dining and partying experience with a playful side, that focuses on community. This was the ethos of Mantis: a second home to go to after work or on the weekend for quality food, inventive cocktails, exceptional music and familiar faces. Later down the line, we decided to revisit this positioning and created a new brand identity for Mantis, based on a new brief which you can see here.