Mad Mex Fresh Mexican Grill operates five, quick-service taquerias throughout Sydney, Australia (anyone who’s ever tasted Vegemite can understand why cuisine from faraway continents would gain popularity Down Under). The chain’s founder hired Sydney-based Holy Cow! Design & Advertising to design the program.
Lee Nicol, Holy Cow!’s art director, and the team identified one of the more iconic figures from Mexican popular culture as a graphic centerpiece: the luchador, a grappler in that nation’s lucha libre high-flying, no-holds-barred, wrestling style.
Emma Gray, who worked on the project’s design, said, “Environmental graphics communicate brand values to diners and create a dynamic aesthetic and consistent ambience in each restaurant.” Tongue in cheek, she continued, “The Mad Mex brand character fights for flavor, defends freshness and vanquishes all lesser foods.”
To complement the Mad Mex wrestler, Holy Cow!’s creative director, Melissa Webber, and her team developed a large-format illustration that typographically represents fresh foods and brand value. The environmental graphics also feature posters for lucha libre “matches” such as “Best vs. Rest” and “Nuevo vs. Viejo.”
Signaction (Sydney) printed and installed the wall graphics on its HP Designjet L25500 latex-ink printer. A satin-finish overlaminate provides additional durability and longevity. Signaction collaborated with Cuneen Signs to build the lightboxes that feature food and beverage selections.