Work

Own concept

ONCES

A crêperie for Chapinero that nobody could mistake for another. The answer didn't come from France but from grandma's table: las onces, Bogotá's afternoon snack.

Year
2026
Disciplines
Branding, Packaging, Naming
Role
Strategy, naming, identity and packaging
Deliverables
32-page manual, logo and versions, graphic system, voice and 8 packaging pieces
Location
Chapinero, Bogotá
Cover of the ONCES brand manual with the logo and a crepe cone next to a hot chocolate cup

The brief

Create a sweet-and-savory crêperie for Chapinero from scratch, with packaging people want to photograph, share and remember.

French clichés were off the table (Eiffel Tower, berets, “Parisian” scripts), and so was the generic café look: kraft with a black stamp, chalkboards, stock boxes with a logo slapped on.

Before designing I asked twelve questions about audience, price, tone and operations. Weekend families come first, the kitchen makes 300+ crêpes a day, and the ask was clear: opening the package should feel like getting a gift.

Three brand routes explored: ONCES, RUANA and TAPIA
Three routes explored, each with its own name, recipe and hero package. ONCES was chosen.

The idea

Las onces means Santafé hot chocolate, cheese melting into the cup and a carefully set table. Every Bogotá local owns the word, and no crêperie had claimed it.

The idea takes the crêpe out of France and into a centuries-old local tradition, and it makes the house chocolate the star. And once means 11: the number hides in the icon, the 11-stamp loyalty card and the 11th of every month.

“If you didn't dip it in the chocolate, it wasn't onces.”

ONCES logo: the o is an enamel tin cup seen from above
The o is an enamel tin cup seen from above, chipped at two o’clock. The lettering follows 1970s hand-painted shop signs.
ONCES logo versions
Five versions, from the storefront to an 8 mm sticker.
ONCES logo construction and color
Construction, clear space and positive and negative versions.

Palette and proportion of use

Cream#F3E3C345 %

Paper white#FFFDF825 %

Enamel red#B5452B18 %

Chocolate#3B1F1410 %

Mustard#E0A5262 %

ONCES typefaces
Fraunces for headlines, DM Sans for text, and custom lettering for the logo only.
ONCES graphic assets
Crochet, the enamel-red rim, the chip, sign-painter shadow and the hidden 11: five assets that identify the brand without the logo.

The packaging

Every package has a shape, a mechanism and a reveal. Sweet crêpes come in a cone that slots into the chocolate cup, so you can eat while walking without a mess. Savory ones come in a box that opens like a set table.

There are eight pieces, all producible in Colombia in board and paper, with a phased production plan that doesn't strain first-year cash flow.

Crêpe cone slotted into the ONCES chocolate cup
The Cone, slotted into the cup.
La Mesita package with a savory crêpe
La Mesita, for savory crêpes.
Mesa de Onces box open with four portions
Mesa de Onces: the box opens like a set table.
Hay Onces delivery bag
Hay Onces, the delivery bag.
Sauce cups and paper wraps
Sauce cups and paper wraps.
Rainy-season edition bag
Aguacero Edition, for the rainy season.
The ONCES voice applied to packaging and social
The voice: craftsman facts and Bogotá humor, never postcard clichés.
ONCES packaging production plan
Phased production plan.
The ONCES in-store experience
The ritual in the shop: the 4:11 p.m. chocolate hour, the wall of cups and the cone window.

Credits

Strategy, naming, identity, voice, packaging and manual: Alexander Caro.

Concept project: ONCES is not a real business and there was no client. Base mockup photography was generated with AI; the logo, graphics and brand system are my own design.

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