Making a 18-ingredient dessert feel approachable, not overwhelming.

BRAND IDENTITY

SERVICE SYSTEM

UBE x ICE is a premium halo-halo brand in development for catered events and future retail. Its long-term goal is to make the Filipino dessert as familiar as boba, gelato, or mochi. I led the naming, positioning, identity, packaging, event system, uniforms, and vehicle graphics — building a complete, ready-to-run brand and service system, down to a mobile bar one person can operate alone.

Role

Brand Strategy & Identity Lead

Discipline

Naming, positioning, identity, packaging, event system, uniforms, vehicle graphics

Year

2024-2025

01 / The challenge

A DESSERT THAT IS HARD TO EXPLAIN

Overwhelming ingredients. A messy glass. Layers that lose their appeal once mixed..

Halo-halo can be difficult for newcomers to understand. Its 12–18 ingredients can look overwhelming, the traditional glass can be messy to use, and its colorful layers lose their visual appeal after mixing.

12–18 — ingredients in a traditional halo-halo

02 / The strategy

LEAD WITH THE FAMILIAR

Approachable, without losing what makes it authentic.

The name uses the growing familiarity of ube to make the product easier to understand. Ingredients are displayed individually so customers can see what they are choosing and customize their order. A simple identity, frosted cup, and Filipino cultural details make the experience approachable without stripping away what makes it authentic.

03 / The Mark

SIMPLE BY DESIGN

A cup-shaped mark, kept deliberately simple.

The logo was intentionally kept simple to balance the visual complexity of halo-halo. Its cup-shaped mark suggests the dessert’s layered ingredients without illustrating every detail, making it easy to recognize and understand.

The same form carries through the menu and the physical cup used to serve the product, creating a direct connection between the identity and the experience.

04 /  Language & sizing

MARAMI · SAKTO · KONTI

Sizes that carry language and personality.

Instead of defaulting to small, medium, and large, the size system uses Tagalog words: marami for a lot, sakto for just right, and konti for a little. The cup icons make the differences clear, while the names introduce another piece of Filipino language and personality into the ordering experience.

05 / Packaging

THE SPOON AS A FRAME

Showing every ingredient on its own terms.

Displaying each ingredient separately makes halo-halo easier to understand and less intimidating. The spoon became the visual frame for presenting each ingredient, creating consistency across the system while adding a subtle cultural reference — Filipino meals are commonly eaten with a spoon and fork, with the fork used to guide rice and other foods onto the spoon. Illustrations communicate the variety of ingredients while simplifying their presentation, preserving the dessert’s sense of abundance without presenting every unfamiliar texture at once.

Even the napkins carry a cultural icon, a short fact, or a bit of context about halo-halo, turning an ordinary touchpoint into a small introduction to the culture behind the dessert.

06 / The Service System

AN EASY TO RUN HALO-HALO BAR

Uniforms, a compact bar, and staff as cultural ambassadors.

The uniforms carry the brand directly into the service experience: clean white T-shirts keep the look relaxed, while purple caps and aprons create immediate recognition, and an illustrated ingredient pattern adds personality without making the experience feel overly formal. The booth and bar were designed as a compact, collapsible system that can be transported, set up, and operated by one person — at larger events, multiple stations can be placed throughout the venue to shorten wait times and increase brand visibility. Staff are trained to be welcoming and to explain what halo-halo is, how it is enjoyed, and its history and place within Filipino culture.

1 or 2 people can transport, set up, and operate the entire bar

07 / Result

WHAT CHANGED

A full brand and service system, built from zero.

UBE x ICE now has a connected brand and service system spanning identity, packaging, menus, uniforms, vehicle graphics, and events — with a clearer ordering experience around an unfamiliar product, and Filipino language, ingredients, and cultural stories integrated throughout the customer experience.

1 system — identity, packaging, menus, uniforms, vehicle graphics, and events, built as one

Status — in development for catered events and future retail