Revolutionizing SF’s Food Economy

La Cocina, a nonprofit incubator for food entrepreneurs in San Francisco, helps mostly low-income immigrant women establish their food businesses.

“In a city rife with economic inequality and a national political climate that threatens the immigrant community, La Cocina enables women of color to not only build economic self-sufficiency but also serve fortifying stories of resilience and cultural diversity through food,” wrote The Bold Italic.

The SF Chronicle recognized that at the same time, La Cocina's work is preserving the soul of San Francisco: "Not only has La Cocina been the most important food organization in San Francisco, but amid a changing landscape, it might also prove to be the key for San Francisco to remain San Francisco."

Inspired by this mission, the Office team helped La Cocina articulate what makes them powerful and unique, and then reflected it in a new visual identity.

“When we visited La Cocina’s shared commercial kitchen one afternoon, we heard five different languages being spoken,” said Office creative director Jason Schulte. “We wanted this cultural richness and diversity to come through in the visual design.” While ensuring the visual identity reflects the organization’s vibrancy and accessibility, the Office team also elevated the design to better represent the high quality of the food.

The Office team re-created La Cocina’s bird logo, incorporating a spoon to convey that La Cocina is feeding a community as it helps talented entrepreneurs take flight. And the team created distinctive, visually cohesive communications, from “Born at La Cocina” restaurant signage and packaging, to branded products, to donor collateral, to the commercial kitchen/headquarters space.

We’re excited to continue our partnership with this remarkable organization.