No life without death. And the tension between the two is our source of creativity.
Client
Empress Family of Restaurants
Year
2021
Services
Brand Refresh: Brand Identity System, Brand Narrative, Branded Merchandise, and Brand Guidelines
The new DxT identity system expands upon the brand’s theme and is based on the playful tension between life and death.
¡Ay, güey! We thought we’d seen everything.
But when Death by Tequila approached us with the challenge of elevating their already kick-ass brand, we thought we’d died and gone to el paraíso. DxT as it’s known locally, is an insanely popular, San Diego based eatery with multiple locations serving elevated cuisine inspired by Baja and a trove of delicious tequila based cocktails.
The new DxT identity system expands upon the brand’s theme and is based on the playful tension between life and death. To tease out that tension, we employed a mix of dark and vibrant hues, light-hearted phrases (‘tequil-isms”) and hand-drawn illustrations.
Knowing that the elevation of the brand would only be felt if all the individual details worked together to tell a cohesive story, we really took a 360° approach. We looked at everything from gift bag patterns, a new photographic style, our illustrations
and so much more. We tried to strike the perfect/imperfect balance between minimalism, nihilism, optimism, and humor. We also infused common spanglish and baja centric phrases throughout our designs and communications and introduced a new DxT tagline “Saludos from el otro lado.”
Our vibe is all about passion, community
and good times
DxT is a lifestyle and mindset as much as it is an adventurous night out, or go-to haunt where locals gather after dark to sip tequilas, crafted-cocktails and mezcals found nowhere else is San Diego.
Here you’ll find both the devil-may-care spirit of Baja naturally combined with a devil-in-the-details approach to cuisine. DxT, like Baja itself, exists in perpetual contrast.
We retell the larger than life stories from our shared, gorgeous coastline and rugged landscapes through our vibrant flavors and presentations, while embracing the down to earth, welcoming nature of the people and culture of the peninsula.
Who is Skullito?
Meet our antihero. Skullito embodies the rebellious spirit of Baja. He’s the hombre at the end of the bar with intriguing black eyes and deadpan humor, dry as a sun-scorched arroyo.
He’ll amuse you with tales of adventure on the high seas, evocative as salty skin, and stories that would make your abuela blush. By day he stares down the barrel of a wave off a deserted Baja beach.
After dusk, you’ll find him with a sinfully smooth mezcal in bony hand.
Join him and he’ll tip his sombrero.
Offer him bad tequila?
