Biju is bubble tea brand and cafe located in London’s Soho district that looked to bring and translate a product and experience well-established in South East Asia to the UK in a way that would appeal to a modern discerning market. This was achieved by focusing on fresh, natural and high quality ingredients, a simple menu with an emphasis on taste, a focus on the social aspects of sharing tea, and a brand identity design by ico that ties each of these together. ico’s brand identity extended to signage, branded cups, business cards and uniforms.

Biju’s brand identity works well to convey the key values of contemporary social experience, high quality and fresh flavour through colourful geometric patterns, a logotype that mixes an all lowercase informality, modern stencil cut detail and traditional flourish, group photography and a responsive website with a focus on fostering community. These are effectively bound and complemented by a colour palette of four inks and plenty of white space informed by bubble tea ingredients. A rich interior design by architects Gundry and Ducker, takes a current urban utility and gives it a warmth, distinction and social quality by bringing together exposed steel ducts and brick walls, open stepped cork seating and bright panels.

Design: ico. Interior: Gundry and Ducker. Opinion: Richard Baird