hero-video
Cantina del Centro

For the love of tacos

Cantina del Centro has been pouring margaritas and serving non-traditional tacos in Nelson since 2012. When it started spreading into Kelowna, Big White and Revelstoke, the brand needed to travel without losing the local watering hole everyone loves. We refreshed the identity, hand-illustrated a mascot for every town, set a new standard for its photo and video, and launched it all under one voice.

Visual Identity & Production
Visual Identity
Colours: #DE9181, #B95F33, #76988D, #294937 Band: #294937 Accent: #DE9181 Title: off Cue: off Images: natural Reveal: fade Gallery: carousel Loop: 53501114543 | https://vimeo.com/927298679/65f05ec2dc | 16:9 Loop: +53501292898 | https://vimeo.com/909318486/a8f3f5f1ee | 9:16 | 1080:650 Loop: +queso-couple | https://vimeo.com/909318352/4f95cd35c7 | 9:16 Loop: +oval-free-tacos | https://vimeo.com/909318412/75c5323cd0 | 9:16 | 1080:900 Loop: +53501379975 | https://vimeo.com/909318469/46f96b0936 | 9:16 | 1080:870 Loop: +nachos-spread | https://vimeo.com/909318429/9108325c67 | 9:16 | 1080:870 Loop: +tacos-red | https://vimeo.com/909318441/cbd604c4d8 | 9:16 | 1080:875
The approach Not a rebrand. [Renewed,] [re-energized,] [still Cantina.] Cantina came to us at a crossroads: four locations, separate social accounts and a look that hadn’t kept up with where it was headed. We untangled what wasn’t working and refreshed everything that was, so the brand could grow into new towns and still feel like the local watering hole.
Head | From brand book / to free tacos Brand guidelines | 40 pages | #DE9181 Alebrijes | Hand-drawn | #76988D Merch | Totes, tees and badges | #B95F33 Social | Templates | #294937 Photo and video | Content standards | #80402C Launch | Free Tacos For A Year | #DE9181
2,400 | New followers in six weeks 222K | Ad impressions 5,474 | Engagements 36¢ | Per click
proof-clipshoot-loop-1shoot-loop-2Cantina del Centro agave badges for Revelstoke, Nelson and Kelowna on terracotta
Visual identity

Sun-faded, hand-drawn, unmistakably Cantina

We modernized the wordmark and built a responsive system around it: primary, secondary and horizontal logos, a stacked CDC monogram and an agave icon. The palette borrows from the faded street art on Mexico’s concrete walls: faded rose, agave green, white sand, rust, terracotta, sea foam and earth.

Then came the part we’re proudest of: custom hand-illustrated alebrijes. Each location gets its own animal and its own colour, so every town has something to call its own while it all reads as one Cantina.

Production

Setting the look for what comes next

We shot food, cocktails and the room across Cantina’s kitchen and bar to set the standard for how Cantina looks and feels from here on: the light, the colour, the pace. The same photo and video then did double duty as the launch campaign, cut into reels, stories and ads in the refreshed palette.

Launch

Free tacos for a year

With four locations and separate social accounts, Cantina needed one voice. We consolidated everything into a single account and kicked off the refreshed brand with a contest to win free tacos for a year. Six weeks of contest content and Instagram-only ads did the rest.

Cantina del Centro brand guideline pages
Cantina del Centro guideline pages: alebrije illustrations and brand pattern
Cantina del Centro guideline pages: merch badges, tote bag and tee
Cantina del Centro guideline pages: social cover posts and feed
Cantina del Centro photo and video content
Free Tacos For A Year launch campaign posts
No items found.
Cantina del Centro's hand-drawn alebrijes lined up beside the logo on kraft paper
No items found.
TACO LOVE lettering with the Cantina logo and agave on faded rose
A Cantina bartender garnishing a row of margaritas
A Cantina cook plating a taco in the kitchen
A tostada tower crowned with crispy tortilla strips
Friends laughing over a molcajete of queso fundido at Cantina del Centro
Launch post: Free tacos for a year
A salt-rimmed cocktail on a wooden bar
Nachos, churros, guacamole and a michelada at Cantina del Centro
Two plates of tacos and a hibiscus margarita on a wooden table
No items found.