FISH GUTS

Brand identity and signage for the best San Diego seafood restaurant

Omar Garcia Fish Guts Brand Design OG Design Co.

ROLE
Brand Identity, Art Direction

INDUSTRY
Restaurant, Hospitality

A San Diego seafood restaurant concept rooted in family tradition and a daily commitment to freshness. The brand celebrates locally sourced catches and scratch-made recipes with a bold, modern identity. The system is designed to feel confident, coastal, and unmistakable—capturing the energy of Fish Guts’ taco-forward dining experience.

Omar Garcia Fish Guts Brand Design OG Design Co.
Omar Garcia Fish Guts Brand Design OG Design Co.

Fish Guts needed a mark that could travel. The passport-style stamp became the foundation, a repeatable symbol that feels local, handmade, and official. It holds up in a single color, works in multiple palettes, and turns into pattern when the brand needs to show off.

Omar Garcia Fish Guts Brand Design OG Design Co.
Omar Garcia Fish Guts Brand Design OG Design Co.

The exterior signage is cut from blackened metal as a bold, no-nonsense statement. It’s a nod to the toughness of working fishermen and the grit behind the daily catch. Simple in form and heavy in presence, the mark reads from the street and feels permanent on the building.

Food and drink menu featuring margaritas, wine, beer, craft agua fresca, sodas, and Micheladas with various descriptions and prices.
Pattern of circular stamps with words related to surfing, such as 'surf', 'waves', and 'Guts', featuring fish and surfboard illustrations in blue, yellow, and aqua colors.
Menu page with sections for appetizers, tacos, several main dishes, desserts, and vegetarian options, each with descriptions and prices. The menu uses bold headings and icons indicating vegetarian, gluten-free, and other dietary notes.

The menu system was designed to feel as clean and confident as the brand itself. Strong hierarchy and generous spacing make items easy to scan, while the stamp pattern on the back adds energy without competing with the content. The result is a layout that balances function and character—built for quick decisions at the table and consistent use across future seasonal updates.

Design layout of outdoor menu signs for a seafood restaurant, showing front, side, and back views.
Designs for a restaurant menu board, including front view with menu details, side view of stand, and back view with branding and contact information.

To bring the brand to the sidewalk, we designed a set of sandwich board menu signs built for street-level clarity. The layout is bold, readable, and structured for quick scanning, while the weathered texture and stamp details tie back to the core identity. The reverse side reinforces the brand with a simple “Ahoy” callout and social handles to pull walk-by traffic into the Fish Guts world.

Two posters for 'Fish Guts' in San Diego, CA. The left poster features a cartoonish, sci-fi style image of a large yellow alien holding a spaceship, with three other alien figures behind it, and the address 2222 Logan Ave. The right poster shows a woman in a swimsuit standing on a large fish with a big open mouth, above water with a shell behind her, and the same address at the bottom.
Poster titled "FISH GUTS" depicting a swimmer and a large shark underwater with its mouth open, showing sharp teeth, and an address at the bottom. The poster is partially torn at the top right corner.

To build anticipation ahead of opening, we created a series of guerrilla-style posters inspired by iconic movie artwork. Each poster reimagines a familiar composition, replacing the title with FISH GUTS in typography that matches the original style. Plastered around town, the set sparked curiosity, created shareable moments, and helped the brand feel instantly embedded in the city before the doors even opened.

A person walking on a dock at a marina with boats, mountains in the background, and cloudy sky. The person is wearing a jacket with 'FISH GUTS' printed on the back and a shark image.
Person with long dark hair wearing a white t-shirt with red text on a boat dock near water with ships and marina in background.

As the guerrilla campaign gained traction, the merch became the natural next catch. The poster art shifted from street wheatpastes to wearable pieces, turning early buzz into walking billboards.

Neon sign reading 'FISH GUTS' in blue lights above a storefront at night.

Fish Guts proves that a strong identity is more than a logo—it’s a system that shows up everywhere. The stamp mark, street menus, and metal signage establish a bold foundation, while murals, posters, and merch push the brand into the city itself. Built to be seen, shared, and repeated, the result is an identity that feels local from day one.

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