Case study · Hospitality

Cariño: a brand and website as personal as the menu.

Cariño is a Michelin-starred, Latin-inspired tasting-menu restaurant in Chicago from Chef Norman Fenton. The name means affection, and the restaurant needed an identity and a website that felt that way: intimate, crafted, and rooted in family.

Client: Cariño, Chicago, IL
Role: Brand designer & website manager
Timeline: 2023 – present
Scope: Logo, brand identity, website, SEO, analytics

The challenge

A new restaurant that needed its own name on the door.

Cariño opened in 2023 as Chef Fenton's first chef-owner restaurant, reimagining the space of his previous fine-dining concept. It needed an identity of its own: a mark, a color system, and a website that would help diners understand a tasting-menu experience and book a seat.

Guests find restaurants through search, so the site also had to be built for Google from day one, then kept current as the menu, team, and listings changed.

What I did

Four elements, one identity.

01Mark

Logo & C mark

Explored a range of directions before landing on a hand-lettered script wordmark with an agave illustration, plus a C mark for small spaces.

02System

Brand system

A forest green and gold palette; gold, green, black, and white logo versions; a moodboard; and social headers and print pieces.

03Web

Website

Designed and built the site: about, team, menu, gift cards, and reservations through OpenTable, in the brand's colors and script.

04Search

SEO & analytics

Manage the website, on-page SEO, Google Search Console, and Google Analytics, keeping pages and search listings current.

Outcomes

One identity, from the front door to the search results.

Full identity

Script wordmark, agave icon, and C mark in gold, green, black, and white, ready for every surface.

Live website

Menu, team, gift cards, and online reservations in one place, in the restaurant's own look.

GSC + GA

Search Console and Analytics set up and managed, so search performance is measured, not guessed.

Since 2023

Ongoing management of the site, SEO, and listings as the restaurant evolves.

Portfolio

Selected work.

Logo explorationEarly directions across script, serif, and illustrated marks, on the greens and golds that became the palette.

Final logo systemWordmark with agave, C mark, and agave icon, in versions for dark and light backgrounds.

Full-length Cariño homepage — **Homepage**The full page, top to bottom.

WebsiteThe homepage leads with the room and the story behind the name, with reservations one click away.

Cariño color palette: forest green, gold, sage, agave green, off-white, and black — **Color palette**Forest green and gold, with supporting neutrals.

Moodboard with the dining room, art, materials, and a color scheme — **Color palette**Forest green and gold, with supporting neutrals.

Cariño menu page with dish names in gold script — **Menu page**Dish names set in the brand script, easy to update each season.

Cariño team page with the executive chef's portrait and bio — **Menu page**Dish names set in the brand script, easy to update each season.

Team photography on the website by Kelly Sandos.