Dong Lai Shun: Revitalizing a Time-Honored Brand with Beijing-Style Hand-Drawn Illustrations

Restoring the Scene, People, and Story of Donglaishun

Donglaishun, a hundred-year franchise restaurant with its origin in 1903, holds a significant place in Chinese culinary history. However, in recent years, its brand value has weakened, leading to misconceptions among consumers. To address this, Dongdao Creative Branding Group embarked on a project to restructure the brand and restore its historical and cultural context.

By structuring both the historical and cultural context of Donglaishun, the design team represented the restaurant as it was 100 years ago. The core brand elements were Beijing-style hand-drawn illustrations, which captured the essence of the era. This unique approach distinguishes Donglaishun from other brands and reinforces its authority and high quality.

The realization of this design involved adjusting the brand identity and logo, standardizing the color system, selecting appropriate auxiliary decoration patterns and pictures, and unifying the exclusive font. These efforts upgraded the brand image and created a cohesive and visually appealing brand system.

Through the application of hand-drawn illustrations as core elements, Dongdao Creative Branding Group constructed a systematic brand identity that evokes an artistic and humanistic brand image. This approach allows consumers to connect with the historical and cultural value behind the revitalized brand.

The project, which took place from August to November 2015 in Beijing, required extensive research to ensure the accurate representation of Donglaishun's historical context. The team delved into the prosperity, ancient buildings, the general public, officials, nobles, poets, and literary men of the time, capturing the essence of the era in their design.

One of the main challenges faced by the design team was to unify the brand concept throughout the restaurant's long history as a time-honored brand. Through constant research and immense effort, they successfully adopted Beijing-style hand-drawn illustrations that encapsulated the spirit of the era and conveyed the brand's cultural significance.

This exceptional design project was recognized with the Iron A' Design Award in 2017. This prestigious award is bestowed upon well-designed, practical, and innovative creations that meet professional and industrial requirements. The use of Beijing-style hand-drawn illustrations, along with the careful restoration of Donglaishun's historical and cultural context, contributed to the fulfillment and positive feelings associated with the brand, ultimately creating a better world.