Argot
Brand Identity
Creative Direction • Design
2023
Argot is a brasserie that fuses classic French favorites with thoughtful accents of Chicago and the Midwest.
A ground-up project scope which included the restaurant concept, restaurant name, and full visual and editorial brand identity package.
An Okay Coyote Project
Project Management, Producer, Marketing: Micah McKay
Editorial Director: Luis Angel Cancel
Illustration: Angelo Dolojan
Photography: Clayton Hauck
There’s a certain air hospitality workers have about them. They rarely have to tell staff they’re in the industry before their server or bartender picks up on it. In a city like Chicago, a “pinkies up” snobby vibe won’t fly. Everything is done to a high standard, but casually, modestly, and with a quiet, knowing nod to the ones who get it.
It feels good to be in the know; to feel part of a club, or connected to a community. There’s a kinship there we all crave. Inside that small circle, you have your own slang, inside jokes, and best-kept secrets.
The French call this “argot”.
Argot's visual language elicits a modern interpretation of iconic Parisian cafés like Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots, drawing inspiration from classic Godard films, the quintessential Maison Gatti café chair, and Georges Goursat's (SEM) Belle Époque caricatures.
A full brand guidelines book was developed, detailing the restaurant’s voice, branding, photography, illustration, social media creative direction, and staff guidelines.
Illustrations by Angelo Dolojan put a modern twist on the caricatures of Georges Goursat, used on menus, operational materials, and merchandise.
The commission also included a large-scale painting as the centerpiece of the dining room
Restaurant playlist for joie de vivre.
Staff are provided Vetra chore coats for service—authentic workwear garments made by the same family since 1927 in its own factory in western France.
Argot opened in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood in October 2023.