Grain House Brand Identity: The Character for Grain as a Roof and a Bean

The character for grain as a roof and a bean

In 2023, Xinming Design created the brand identity of Grain House (谷磨の料), a restaurant serving grain drinks. The logo is two stacked roofs above a round bean. It comes from a single Chinese character: the design splits 谷 (gu, grain) into three parts; the two dots at the top and the 人 shape beneath them become two roofs, and the 口 box at the bottom becomes a bean. The roofs are the HOUSE; the bean is the GRAIN; together they spell the English name. The supporting graphic is a ring of beans laid out along a spiral, like a turning millstone, and hand drawn illustrations of twelve grains and beans carry the identity to menus, business cards, membership cards, cups, packaging, takeaway boxes and aprons.

Grain, grind, ingredients

The Chinese name has three key characters:

· 谷 (gu): grains, the raw material;

· 磨 (mo): grinding, turning grain into drinks;

· 料 (liao): ingredients and food.

The English name, GRAIN HOUSE, means a home for grains. The design opens with two pairs of keywords: civilisation, a return to simplicity and the scent of rice, beside a photograph of white walls and dark tiled eaves; and nature, careful craft and every grain gathered in, beside a spoonful of mung beans.

The usual logo for a grain drink shop is an ear of wheat, a leaf or a bowl. These show the category, but rarely which shop.

So the logo had to answer: how can grain and home become one figure?

From character to roof

The answer is inside the character 谷:

· The top two dots: the two short strokes at the top of 谷 join into a roof stretching out to both sides;

· The 人 in the middle: the two sweeping strokes below form a second, wider roof, stacked beneath the first;

· The 口 at the bottom: the box becomes a round bean, with a small highlight at the upper right.

Two roofs sheltering a bean: a house that holds grain. The construction drawing sets both roofs at an angle of 70 degrees, offset like the layered eaves of a traditional house. The logo forms horizontal and stacked lockups with 谷磨の料 and GRAIN HOUSE, and can also be embossed on its own.

A ring of beans, a millstone

The 磨 (grind) in the name goes to the supporting graphic:

· Spiral: a fine line winds outward from the centre, and beans are laid along it, growing larger toward the edge;

· Millstone: the design lays this ring of beans over a black and white photograph of a millstone, the spiral following the direction the stone turns.

A ring of beans becomes a turning millstone. The graphic appears on the proposal cover, posters, the back of business cards, membership cards and paper bags.

Twelve hand drawn grains

The second supporting graphic is a set of botanical style drawings of twelve plants: ears of rice and wheat, millet, sorghum, corn and various bean pods, drawn in fine lines like an old botanical guide.

Posters enlarge a single grain to fill the page, beside the line Nutritious and healthy cereal food; on cups, bags and takeaway boxes, the same grains shrink into partial patterns.

Grain green, deep green, cream

The layouts use only three colours:

· Grain green: a bright yellow green, like newly headed rice and wheat, for large grounds, cups and aprons;

· Deep green: close to ink green, for the illustrations, text and dark grounds;

· Cream: the colour of paper and open space.

All three colours come from the field: grain green is the young shoot, deep green the mature leaf, cream the milled flour.

From menus to aprons

In store

· Menus: grain green and cream versions, headed GRAIN HOUSE

· Posters: a series of hand drawn grain posters, and key visuals with the enlarged logo

· Placemats: an all over logo pattern

Membership and business cards

· Membership card: grain green, with the spiral of beans

· Business cards: cream front, grain green back

Drinks and takeaway

· Paper cups: one with the enlarged logo, one with hand drawn grains

· Plastic cups, salad boxes, sandwich boxes, takeaway boxes

· Paper bags: spiral of beans and hand drawn grain versions

· Wooden cutlery and napkins

Staff

· Aprons in white and grain green

The application images on this page are proposal mock-ups; the name, phone number, address and web address on the business card are placeholders.

Deliverables and extensions

Logo design

· Grain House logo (two roofs and a bean split from the character 谷)

· Horizontal and stacked bilingual lockups

· Construction drawing (roofs at 70 degrees)

Core identity

· Colours: grain green, deep green, cream

· Supporting graphics: spiral of beans, twelve hand drawn grains

· Brand keywords: civilisation, a return to simplicity and the scent of rice; nature, careful craft and every grain gathered in

Applications

· In store: menus, posters, placemats

· Membership and business cards

· Drinks and takeaway: paper cups, plastic cups, food boxes, takeaway boxes, paper bags, cutlery and napkins

· Staff: aprons

Looking back

Three points are worth taking from this project:

1. Start from one character of the name. 谷 already has the shape of a roof; split it and it becomes a house holding a grain, saying both the Chinese and the English name at once.

2. Give every character of the name a place. 谷 goes to the logo, 磨 to the spiral of beans, 料 to the twelve hand drawn grains.

3. Bring back the field with colour. Grain green, deep green and cream give a drinks shop the air of a rice field.

The logo of a grain brand works best when people see the grain first, and then a home.

How to verify

· Brand: Grain House (谷磨の料)

· Year: 2023

· This case page: www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3268.html

Further reading

· Habotu Coffee Brand Identity: A Coffee Bean Split into Two Rabbit Ears (www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3154.html)

· GODLUCK Coffee Brand Identity: Two Feathers That Form a Coffee Bean (www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3150.html)

· MSEDU Education Brand Identity: Three Slashes That Write an M (www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3206.html)

FAQ

Who designed the Grain House logo?

The logo and visual identity of Grain House (谷磨の料) were designed by Xinming Design in 2023.

What does the Grain House logo mean?

The logo is split from the Chinese character 谷 (grain): the two dots at the top and the 人 shape become two roofs, and the 口 box at the bottom becomes a bean. The roofs are the HOUSE and the bean is the GRAIN, together spelling GRAIN HOUSE.

What does the spiral of beans stand for?

Beans laid along a spiral look like a turning millstone, matching 磨 (grind) in the brand name.

What are the Grain House brand colours?

Grain green, deep green and cream.

What did the project include?

The logo and bilingual lockups, a construction drawing, a three colour palette, the spiral of beans and twelve hand drawn grains, and applications including menus, posters, placemats, membership cards, business cards, cups, food boxes, takeaway boxes, paper bags, cutlery and aprons.

Which brands can learn from this case?

Grain drink, light meal and tea brands; restaurants that want to find their logo in the shape of a Chinese character in their name; and food brands that need a set of hand drawn illustrations to use across menus, packaging and takeaway.

Xinming Design is a brand systems design firm. Its work centres on systematic judgment, turning brand strategy into structures that can run and be inherited. www.xinming.sg