&Walsh's identity for Zooba is inspired by the colourful streets of Cairo

With the opening of its first store in New York, it approached &Walsh to create its new brand in America. Walsh told us that they went to Cairo to meet Zooba's team: "We were inspired by the "beauty of the layered visuals we saw on the streets: the hand-painted typography on foul carts, geometric patterned tapes, mix and matched coloured tiles, posters, and painted illustrations on walls."

This inspiration informs much of the identity. Bright colours, geometric patterns, Egyptian influences and a bold custom type that came from a collaboration with Cairo-based calligraphy artist Mohamed Mohamed.

&Walsh layered this type with modern versions of patterns and illustrations inspired by the streets of Cairo. "Just like their food is a modern twist on traditional classics, we aimed to do this with the visual language," adds &Walsh.

The actual space was designed by Egyptian born and award-winning architect Ahmed El Husseiny of AE SuperLab in Brooklyn. Together with &Walsh, they worked on the interior, taking Cairo’s street style and giving it a modern flair. This includes Egyptian street food cart-inspired lettering, a crazy kitschy LED light panel ceiling, traditional Cairo street cafe wooden chairs and a huge, not-to-be-missed mural on the restaurant’s Kenmare storefront, making it a neighbourhood feature.