F&B

Yasma

Heritage interpreted, never borrowed off a shelf

(SCROLL)

Yasma is a Levantine restaurant in Vancouver, built by founders who wanted the food’s cultural depth present in the brand rather than decorating it.

Middle Eastern restaurants in North America are usually branded with the same small set of borrowed symbols. The shorthand is legible, and it flattens every restaurant using it into the same one.

(01) Project Overview

Client

Yasma

Sector

F&B

Services

Brand Strategy · Brand Identity · Arabic Calligraphy · Brand Guidelines · Brand Collateral · Website Design

Engagement

Storm Start™ → Storm Partner™

Location

Vancouver, Canada

Website

yasma.ca

(02) Challenge

Cultural depth beyond clichés

The easy route for a Levantine restaurant is a set of recognisable motifs. They communicate the category instantly and say nothing specific about this restaurant, its founders or its food. The audience in Vancouver is mixed: guests from the region notice anything superficial immediately, while guests without that background need an entry point that does not depend on prior knowledge. Fine dining in a competitive city also means the brand is judged physically, across menus, cards and the room itself, where a concept that only works on screen falls apart.

(03) Decision

Architecture shapes the identity

The position

The brand was built on heritage interpreted rather than displayed. The logomark is drawn from the overhead view of a Damascene fountain, read as flow, community and refinement, so the cultural depth is structural instead of applied.

The consequence

The Arabic was drawn as original lettering rather than set in a typeface, because a restaurant built on specificity cannot use a generic script. Everything else follows that standard, including the room.

What was built

A logomark drawn from the overhead view of a Damascene fountain
Original Arabic calligraphy rather than a typeset script
An identity built on flow, community and refinement rather than on motif
Typography and palette carrying warmth alongside sophistication
Menus, cards and promotional material designed as extensions of the room
A website built as a digital version of the dining experience

How it launched

One register across every touchpoint, from the first search to the last course. Started as Storm Start™, continues as Storm Partner™.

(04) Impact

A Levantine restaurant that looks like itself rather than like the category.

(05) Client

“Storm studio is all about understanding the core values and personality of your brand. They did a superb job transforming our vision into the final product. They do specialize in Arabic calligraphy which is a plus.”

Sami M.

Co-Founder, Yasma Restaurant

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