53 is a contemporary Asian restaurant in New York City that draws its creative essence from its iconic location. Nestled next to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in a tower designed by prominent architect Jean Nouvel, the restaurant name is an homage to its physical location at 53 West 53rd Street. 53 is Ahmass Fakahany of Altamarea Group’s first foray into Asian fine dining, and was conceived with a contemporary, creative soul to resonate with diners from the art, design, and fashion worlds looking for a luxurious and artistic dining experience. The restaurant also houses an art gallery in partnership with Friedrich Petzel Gallery. Pentagram has designed a flexible, brand identity system (including the identity, print collateral, and website) to complement the restaurant’s dramatic, eye-catching interior design by ICRAVE.
“Hopefully we are bringing an alternative experience with Asian cuisine,” says Akmal Anuar, the restaurant’s head chef. “53 is about having fun and enjoying the food, design, and atmosphere altogether.”
Inspired by the interior of the space, the logomark and visual identity feature an intricate, architecturally structured icon with the numbers five and three intertwined, fitting together as seamlessly as the restaurant’s three dining levels. The color system is inspired by the ideas of harmony and balance in Chinese mythology, an important part of the design philosophy behind the project. It features a mixture of warm and cool shades in varying contrasts of sharpness and softness, as well as lush, marbled brushstroke textures creating a handcrafted appearance. Hints of gold found throughout the system match the bronze finishes of the restaurant interior. The identity uses a pair of complimentary typefaces: Grand Slang, a sleek, calligraphy-inspired typeface by Nikolas Type, and Yport by Luzi Type.
Every aspect of 53, from its menu, interiors to its identity design, is created to provide a highly atmospheric experience. Pentagram’s system extends this thoughtfulness to the smallest of touchpoints, like the to-go bags that were designed as a nod to the restaurant’s ”big move” as the architects call it; a glowing, rainbow-streaked series of structural blades that flow from the ground floor to the dining room, so diners can take a the feeling of the space home with them along with their leftovers.
