kosō, an eatery in columbus, ohio, honors korea's street food traditions by marrying american fast/casual food with the pojangmacha.

while the storefront formally opened in the spring of 2022, these logos were designed during the summer of 2021.

iterations of the kosō logo borrowed from korean architecture, design, and typography — both traditional and modern. although the first design signaled a sense of comfort through its rounded lines and shapes, it wasn't grounded in the core values of kosō.

as such, the later iterations of the design borrowed from the characters themselves.

고소, derived from 고소한 냄새 to describe a particular smell or taste, is a word with sino-korean roots. looking to its etymology, kosō could embody something much larger than food: its also about sharing across borders, cultural lines, and creating new futures.

we used the second character of 고소, turning the 人 into a rooftop, a physical place. 人, conveniently, is also the chinese character for "person." on the bottom line, we added to bowls (or cups of tea, depending on how you interpret it).

the final logo, still using the same shape and structures as the second draft, features elements of brush calligraphy. kosō, after all, is homemade and homegrown — it needed to feel more approachable and humble.

if you ever find yourself in columbus, you can find kosō's menu here.