Project Overview

So 9, which translates to ‘Number 9’, is the lucky number in Vietnamese culture. Situated in Waterloo, Sydney, So 9 restaurant serves up authentic Vietnamese street food in a refined, minimal and contemporary setting.

The brief was to design a brand and store that was an homage to the client’s own Vietnamese roots as well as their Australian upbringing. The restaurant melds together traditional street food cues with a pared back interior inspired by the client’s love of fashion and Scandinavian design.

Project Commissioner

So 9

Project Creator

BrandWorks

Project Brief

For So 9 the brief was to design a brand and store that was an homage to the client’s own Vietnamese roots as well as their Australian upbringing. The restaurant melds together traditional street food cues with a pared back interior inspired by the client’s love of fashion and Scandinavian design.

With So 9, we had a client who had a very clear vision of what she wanted, so we drew a lot of inspiration from her aesthetic preferences, but also her parent’s story of immigration and hard work to build a home and look after a family. We tied her preference for Scandinavian inspired design and her story, to focus on memories and reflections, so that it stayed clean and crisp but also had a softness, which she desired.

Project Innovation/Need

This approach to a Vietnamese restaurant has not been seen yet in the Australian market, one that is clean, elegant and more likely to be compared to a fashion brand rather than other restaurant brands.

The brand is immensely personal, with commissioned illustrations used within the branding that is seen on the collateral but also throughout the store.

Design Challenge

The challenge with So 9 was creating something completely new with no references, and moulding a very strong vision into reality. Also the owner wanted to serve distinctly authentic food, but in a contemporary environment, so making sure that Vietnamese elements and references back to tradition could be found within a clean and modern design and brand.

Effectiveness

Since opening in August 2015, the restaurant has done very well, with write ups in well known publications such as Broadsheet, Urbanlist and others.