Companion Design Q&A
When it came time to refresh the brand identity for Companion Hospitality, there was no question who we’d turn to: Graham Bradley. As the designer behind the individual branding for Bell’s, Bar Le Côte, and Na Na Thai, Graham has been a creative partner from the beginning—shaping the visual language that defines our restaurants. His work captures the nuance and spirit of a place with elegance and restraint, always finding that perfect balance between elevated and approachable.
We sat down with Graham to reflect on the process behind the new Companion brand. How it came together, what inspired it, and the intentional choices that shaped its final form.
The catalogue of Companion brands.
What excited you most about working on this brand for Companion Hospitality?
For me, restaurant design is 100% about the people involved. I love working with Daisy and Greg. They are fantastic clients. They have impeccable taste, but they also are up for exploration. It’s a rare combination. When we work together, there’s a clear vision but also an understanding of craft and process.
Were there any key words, themes, or inspiration that guided your process from the start?
We actually drew some type for Companion a few years ago. It looked nice, but we didn’t have the time to go through various concepts and prototype different ideas. That first wordmark came from the same swirl of inspiration as the Bell’s type - French plus ranch. Over time, Companion expanded to include other restaurants, and Daisy and Greg garnered all kinds of well-deserved accolades in the fine-dining world. That first mark didn’t fit what Companion had become, and for years I wanted to redo it. I was so excited when Greg wrote me to ask about an update. So I was on a mission to get well beyond that first version. The first logo was Franch. I wanted this new logo to be even more elevated and elegant.
Can you walk us through your process for translating the spirit of a hospitality group into a visual identity?
A crucial part of this process was the mood board that Alana (Brand & Communications at Companion and Co-Owner of Bodega) created! I want to ask how you put those images together - they were a great starting point.
”Thanks Graham! I’m a big fan of vintage typography, and pulled some various marks that I felt aligned with the vision for what Greg and Daisy have created in Companion’s restaurants—elegant yet unfussy, serious yet approachable. We knew you’d be able to run with it from there! ” - Alana
The mood board consisted of a handful of (mostly) high contrast monograms in various styles. In type design, contrast refers to the amount of weight variation within a letter. So a high contrast letter has heavy strokes and thin strokes in the same letterform.
When I saw those references, I was very much on the same page. Monograms and high contrast letters are both deeply enmeshed in the world of heritage brands, dining, and hospitality, and I knew we could do something in that vein but make it our own.
One of the pieces of inspiration.
How did you approach designing a brand that could stretch across multiple restaurant concepts while still feeling cohesive?
I’m first and foremost a type designer, which is somewhat atypical in this space. I love creating custom type for projects because type can be very expressive while also leaving quite a bit open to interpretation. A project with a foundation of custom type can expand and contract as needed. It’s one of the cool things about the Bell’s brand as well. If we use that wide sans serif, you know it’s Bell’s, even if we are trying out new copy or a new illustration style or a new color. The Companion brand works similarly. I love how in the mockup with all the restaurant names, the colors are a nod to each restaurant while the type brings each name into the Companion family.
The brand feels both refined and welcoming—how did you strike that balance in the design?
A lot of logos I’ve designed for the individual Companion restaurants use all caps. I love capital letters. They have a lot of impact. But here I wanted to try lowercase. I think the contrast and spacing give this type its sense of refinement, while the choice to use lowercase makes it feel approachable.
Now that the brand has launched, how do you feel seeing it come to life across social and other platforms?
It’s been exciting! The first time I saw the monogram appear on Instagram, I loved that it was somewhat small within the area allotted to it in the profile image. That wasn’t a decision I was involved in. Maybe that was your doing, Alana? It was a great call. I really like that we’re continuing to focus on that refinement and elegance in application. I’m also looking forward to seeing how this visual language can evolve as we use it. We’ve created a great starting point for Companion and I’m sure we’ll discover some creative moves with this identity and typeface that we haven’t thought of yet!
Final selections from Graham, and the one we chose!