← BACK TO WORK

Brand Identity System

Chin Mee Chin

Some places are woven into the fabric of a city. Chin Mee Chin is one of them. Rather than rewriting its story, the design preserves the café's timeworn interiors and draws from the wider cultural fabric of its time such as old cafe designs, signboards, vintage packaging, and familiar details to gently carry a beloved institution into the present.

Creative Direction
Norman Hartono
Graphic Designers
Dillon Tan, Faiye del Rosario
Build
Furnisteel Pte. Ltd.
Chin Mee Chin Confectionery facade — sky-blue Peranakan shophouse with red neon-style signage, crowd queuing outside on East Coast Road

01 — Interiors / Past in Present Tense

Past in Present Tense

Full shophouse exterior — the sky-blue building with red Chin Mee Chin Confectionery signage viewed from across the street
Street-level view framed by tropical foliage, customers visible inside beneath the C.M.C. CONFECTIONERY archway header
Interior counter scene — staff in branded white-and-blue ringer tees, original Chinese signboard overhead, red trays stacked
Outdoor terrace with red Tolix chairs, white tables, and the large blue-striped Chin Mee Chin Confectionery wordmark mural
Original café interior — marble round tables, bentwood chairs, pastries and kopi, vintage paintings, and an old radio on a shelf

02 — Identity Marks

Logo

Chin Mee Chin Confectionery identity on cream — full wordmark with Chinese characters left, circular CMC badge right
Chin Mee Chin Confectionery identity on sky blue — white wordmark left, 真美珍 CMC text right

03 — Color Palette

Color

CMC's palette is pulled directly from the café itself — the Ruby red of its signage and trays, the Seaside blue of its walls and uniforms, and the clean white of its enamelware. Kopi brown and Cream anchor the warmer heritage notes beneath.

Primary
HEX #E0251CRuby
Primary
HEX #4FB5E6Seaside
Primary
HEX #FFFFFFWhite
Secondary
HEX #473728Kopi
Secondary
HEX #EFDBB2Cream

04 — Typography

Typography

CMC typography specimen — Gazzetta Bold for display and P22 Mackinac Regular, Bold, and Italic for body text

05 — Art Direction

Crafted From History

Rooted in Chin Mee Chin's original design, the project draws from the wider cultural fabric of its time.

06 — Branding

Branding

Full CMC merchandise flat-lay on red — t-shirt, socks, enamel pins board, kaya jars, menu, koptiam enamel mug, and floral notepad
Angled flat-lay on red — enamel pins board, blue-striped socks, koptiam enamel mug box, and floral notepad
Menu and blue-striped CMC socks laid on red surface, showing bilingual Chin Mee Chin menu layout
Man in CMC white-and-blue ringer tee holding a branded enamel kopi mug
Close-up of the CMC enamel kopi mug and logo sticker on a marble café table
Young girl holding a tiny CMC enamel pin badge up to the camera, bokeh background
Person tying shoelace wearing CMC blue-striped socks, on the original hexagonal tile floor

Long Division × F&B

Have a space that needs a story?

START A PROJECTVIEW MORE WORK