Esquina Slice. Detroit pizza on the corner, in Rochester. “Esquina” means corner in both Spanish and Portuguese, a nod to the owners’ Puerto Rican and Portuguese heritage; the corner property they secured in Rochester; and the square edges of Detroit style slice.

They’re set to be the city’s first dedicated Detroit style pizza shop – a detail that helped anchor our early conversations, which started out wide ranging. As is often the case with new restaurants, they arrived with a flurry of good ideas so part of the early work was helping them zero in on a few key unique values: hyperlocal ingredients sourced from nearby farmers; an open kitchen that puts the process on display; and the fact that Detroit style pizza could be something of a novelty in Rochester.

Working with Senior Designer Gaynor Gordon, we developed a square mark with a subtle downward arrow that, when painted large on the facade, will serve a functional purpose – pointing directly to the main entrance which is surprisingly narrow and easy to miss on the building’s wide frontage.

The logo lettering borrows cues from classic East Coast pizzerias, lending Esquina the feel of an old neighborhood standby. The visual identity hints at tradition while carving out something new and unique to Esquina. I couldn’t resist wrapping the logo around the corners of the paper delivery bags – a small move that aims to reaffirm the name, the shape of the product, and the corner-shop feel all at once.

White T-shirts for front-of-house servers, maroon for the makers in the kitchen. Both will be customer facing.

My role:
Concept
Copy
Client‑liaison
Art direction
Co‑design