By 2020, Dubai International Airport (DXB) was hosting over 65 million passengers per year. With more than 200,000 travellers passing through daily, sales competition for every dollar, dinar, and dirham was fierce.

From homegrown F&B startups, The Noodle House and Flour + Stone, to established global brands, The Hardrock Café and Starbucks, the abundance of airport dining choices was enough to overwhelm even the most seasoned traveller. The typical airport diner is sleep deprived, stressed, and short on time. Getting a traveling group to agree on a restaurant and cuisine is nigh on impossible. It was these observations that set the parameters for a quick service restaurant (QSR) that not only delivered excellent choice at speed, but didn't compromise on quality and taste.

We created Asian Street Kitchen (ASK) - a street food collective housing a colourful mash-up of four edgy concepts rolled into one dynamic location. Distinct, direct, and downright delicious, these vibrant market stalls offer the weary traveller an authentic taste of the East, and group travellers enough choice to please every palate.

The main identity was inspired by the stacked lightboxes typically found in Asian cities, from bustling Singaporean streets to the alleyways of Seoul. For the visual language, Inspiration was drawn from Asian pop culture including vintage kung-fu cult movies and viral dance icons that have become global phenomena. Bespoke iconography and illustrations combined with tongue-in-cheek messaging was used to create graphics for the walls, counter fronts, and even t-shirts serving the dual function as staff uniform and diner souvenirs.

This was a project that required us to get our hands dirty. Literally. With opening day deadline looming, our creative team got the project over the line by physically helping to paste torn posters on the venue walls.