The Challenge
The client sought a logo modernization to attract a broader audience and transition online after 8 years as a physical-only brand. The redesign initiated a full rebrand, expanding applications and refining the company’s vision and mission.
The Original Logo
Kuku’s 8-year-old logo lost clarity and impact at smaller scales, limiting usability and client reach. To preserve recognizability while improving versatility, I explored various typographic alternatives.
The Bird
I refined KuKu’s bird and heart symbols to maintain recognition and cultural meaning. The separate icons caused visual disconnect, so I streamlined the bird to fuse seamlessly with the heart, reinforcing the brand’s playful, onomatopoeic identity.
The Heart
The heart’s circular border was uneven and inconsistent. To create a more scalable, versatile logo, each element was refined for balance and clarity.
The old logo’s dense, black-outlined “leaves” became cluttered at small sizes. I reduced their number and increased negative space, creating balance and harmony with the heart logomark.
Thick black and green lines in the old heart added noise and reduced clarity. I replaced them with implied form, enhancing negative space, balance, and visual harmony within the logo.
I restructured the logo, merging green and yellow into lime for vibrancy while keeping the bird for recognition. Simplifying the form and removing inner circles improved clarity, scalability, and balance within the heart composition.
Color Palette Rationale
I selected a 4-color palette—pink, green, blue, and yellow—each mixed with more complex undertones to add depth and sophistication. Inspired by rosa mexicano, Talavera blue, and marigold yellow, the hues reflect Mexican vibrancy, traditional dyes, and textiles while feeling modern and authentic.
Typographic Exploration
I then experimented with typographic composition for the new logomark, using type as an expressive form to convey sound. While successful, it evoked fun more than cultural authenticity.
The original handwritten typeface lacked legibility and versatility. After testing authentic scripts and novelty fonts with similar issues, I opted for a geometric sans serif—balancing practicality with a modern reflection of Mexican tradition.
The new typeface contrasted nicely with the logo’s curves and remained highly legible at any size. To unify both elements, I added leaf-inspired details to select terminals, creating a cohesive and harmonious logotype.
KUKU Pattern
While exploring the versatility of the new typeface, I implemented repetition as a way of further exemplifying the connection between the bird and company name. This proved useful in various applications, including the shopping bag shown here.
The Grid
The star-shaped grid was chosen for its symbolism of nature, elements, and ties to Mesoamerican heritage, deeply rooted in Mexican culture.
