S O Ї – a Thai street food canteen in Geneva Switzerland is a result of a lucky encounter of a Thai chef and a French gastronomy aficionado crossing each others path in Thailand. After sharing several dinners at local street vendors together they became determined to bring that atmosphere of little red plastic chairs and neon lights to the land of cheese and chocolate. Help bring alive the exotic, lively atmosphere of South-east Asian street market, Hungarian designers Eszter Laki (previously here) and Reka Imre created a comprehensive branding concept inspired by Thailands unique way of mixing the traditional and the modern.
The name Soï, meaning “streets” in Thai, refers to the idea of keeping everything in a puritan, street food style by evoking the magical, luminous mood of Thai street food and typical utilitarian environment. Eager to keep the homely street vendor scale, the restaurant is operated as a micro-enterprise by the two chefs themselves. being present and responsible for the day-to-day business.
The logo and its colors come from the Thai flag, while the faded yellow comes from the hand-painted signs and the old posters on the streets of Bangkok. The comic-strip inspired letters have very special characteristics: the Thai translation of Soï contains uniquely designed details, a one-of-a-kind font which is a full modification of the original Latin letters. The postcards and posters depict iconic figures inspired by the streets of Bangkok as well: an old chap drinking on a chair, a young worker using a mortar and other typical food scenes.
