Skip to content
A round wooden sign with a simple black leafy branch design hangs on the exterior of a brick building above a window.

Industry

  • Hospitality

Services

  • Brand Identity
  • Environmental
  • Print Collateral
  • Website

Partner Since

2021

Rose Mary

A personal brand with Adriatic soul.

When Top Chef winner Joe Flamm and the Day Off Group set out to open their first restaurant together, they weren't chasing a concept. They had one, specific, personal, and already fully formed. Rose Mary would be Italian-Croatian, rooted in the flavors of the Adriatic coast, built around what Flamm calls "Adriatic drinking food."

Split image: Left side shows rose mary handwritten with text below reading Croatian and Italian fusion restaurant. Right side displays plates of assorted dishes, including grilled fish, salad, bread, and pasta on a wooden table.

01 — The brief

Three stories at once

The name carried three stories at once: the two grandmothers who taught Flamm to cook, the herb that grows wild along the Croatian coastline, and the spirit of the konoba, the family-run coastal tavern where food and company are equally serious. The restaurants that feel right, feel like they’ve been there for years. That was the standard Rose Mary set. A concept this specific, this personal, and this rooted in real heritage couldn’t afford a brand that felt invented. It needed to feel discovered.

A wooden chair sits on a patterned tile floor with black star designs, adjacent to a wooden floor. The image captures part of the chair and the geometric contrast between the two flooring types.
A simple, minimalistic dark green line drawing of a single leafy branch is centered on a plain white background.

02 — The insight

The brand had to feel like it already existed

The visual language we built leans into the utilitarian confidence of the konobar, the Croatian tavern keeper who doesn’t decorate, doesn’t perform, just provides. Rustic without being rough. Warm without being sentimental. The logo is simple and direct, with the character of something hand-drawn rather than engineered. The hand-painted exterior signage doesn’t announce itself, it belongs. The illustration system carries the personality of the place without explaining it. Every element was designed to feel like it had been there all along.

Wooden tables set with plates, napkins, cutlery, and glasses are arranged in a cozy restaurant. The focus is on the neatly set tables, with soft, warm lighting and blurred background seating.

03 — The creative

Every touchpoint as part of the same story

The brand extended across everything a guest encounters, the hand-painted exterior sign visible from the street, the menus they handle through the meal, the interiors they sit inside, the illustrations that give the system life, the website and social presence that introduce the restaurant before anyone walks through the door. None of it was decorative all of it was narrative.

Copywriting gave the brand a voice that matched the food, direct, warm, and specific without being precious. Brand guidelines gave the Day Off Group team the tools to extend the identity consistently as the restaurant grew. The result is a system that travels, from a walk past the exterior to a first visit to a second and third, without ever feeling like it’s trying to sell something.

A close-up of a restaurant table set with a glass of water, a glass of red wine, a plate with utensils, and a printed menu on a wooden surface. Soft lighting creates a warm, inviting atmosphere.
Three restaurant menus for Rose Mary are shown: a closed dark green cover with a small branch, and two open menus listing dinner items such as vegetables, salads, pasta, meat, and specials on a light background.
A stylish bar with a patterned tile counter, wooden chairs, and shelves stocked with various bottles of liquor and glassware under arched alcoves, illuminated by warm pendant lights.
A tall glass of orange-pink cocktail topped with crushed ice and mint leaves sits on a wooden bar. In the background, a bowl of citrus fruits and metal shakers are visible.
Two business cards on a light surface. The top card shows rose mary in cursive. The bottom card lists Joe Flamm, Chef/Owner, with contact info and address for Rose Mary in Chicago.
Desktop browser mockup showing the clean typography of the Rose Mary website.
Overhead view of a restaurant table with several plated dishes, including salad, pasta, steak, a cocktail, and bread with olive oil, posted on Instagram by @rosemarychicago.
Wooden shelves filled with neatly stacked white and black plates and bowls are shown in a warmly lit restaurant interior, with wooden chairs placed around tables in the foreground.
A warmly lit restaurant called Rose Mary with large front windows showing people dining inside at night; a neon sign is above the entrance and a one way street sign is visible on the corner.
Illuminated circular exterior sign at night featuring Rose Mary's branch logomark.

The result

Rose Mary opened and immediately became one of the most coveted reservations in Chicago. Food & Wine and Robb Report named it a most highly anticipated opening. The Chicago Tribune, AFAR, and TimeOut Global named it a best new restaurant. Eater Chicago placed it among the 38 essential restaurants in the city. The New York Times recommended it. The MICHELIN Guide took notice. For a concept this personal and this specific, the recognition is a direct reflection of how clearly the restaurant communicated what it was, before a guest ever tasted the food. Rose Mary is part of an ongoing creative partnership with Day Off Group.

Next project

Direct Tools – Ecommerce for refurbished products.

Close-up of a person using a Ryobi brushless circular saw to cut timber.