Sisu Cornwall Cafe
SISU is rooted in two things: Heidi's Finnish heritage and a genuine belief that food should be simple, thoughtful and sourced with care. The name itself is a Finnish concept — roughly translated as resilience and quiet determination — and that ethos runs through every part of the business, from the menu to the materials.
Based originally in East Lothian, SISU operates across pop-up events and catering, with a focus on gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian food. Local sourcing within East Lothian sits at the heart of the offer wherever possible. Since launch, the business has grown to include café and hospitality spaces in Cornwall — a significant evolution from its original concept, and a good test of whether a brand identity can travel.
Where we started
Heidi came with a strong point of view. She had clear references, a natural affinity for Scandinavian design and an instinct for what the brand should and shouldn't feel like. That kind of client is a good one to work with — not because it makes the job easier, but because it grounds the creative conversation in something real from the outset.
We began with collaborative moodboards, working through typography, tone and visual direction together before any concepts were drawn. The goal was to make sure the creative approach was genuinely aligned before committing to a direction — something that saves time later and tends to produce better work.
The references Heidi brought were full of warmth and texture. Minimalist, yes, but not cold. That distinction mattered.
The identity
Several logo concepts were explored before the final direction emerged. The chosen mark centres on a stylised onion icon — a reference that feels natural for a food brand, but one that also connects directly to the Nordic design references explored during moodboarding. It has the kind of quiet confidence that good iconography tends to have: simple enough to work small, characterful enough to hold its own at scale.
The icon is paired with refined typography and clean Scandi-inspired line work, giving the overall system a cohesiveness that works across very different applications. A brand that needs to live on a food container, a menu, a uniform and a vehicle graphic has to be genuinely flexible — not just theoretically adaptable. The SISU identity was built with that in mind.
Designed to travel
What's perhaps most telling about the identity is what happened after launch. SISU has since expanded into café and hospitality spaces in Cornwall, and the brand has carried through into those physical environments without losing anything in translation.
Signage, menus, uniforms and printed materials all draw from the same visual system. The result is a customer experience that feels cohesive whether someone encounters SISU at a pop-up event or walks into one of their spaces. That kind of consistency doesn't happen by accident — it comes from building an identity with enough structure to scale and enough personality to stay recognisable.
What the project involved
The scope covered the full brand identity: logo and icon development, typography and colour system, and a suite of applications across packaging, signage, digital and vehicle graphics. As the business has grown, the identity has continued to inform new touchpoints — a good sign that the foundations were set up properly from the start.
A note on longevity
Not every brand identity gets tested the way SISU's has. Growing from a pop-up concept in East Lothian to a physical café in Cornwall is a meaningful leap — in audience, in environment, in the demands placed on the visual identity. The fact that the brand has held together through that growth is what makes this project one we return to with some satisfaction.
A brand that still feels right a few years in, across contexts its designers didn't originally anticipate, is one that was built to last.
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