Case Study 04

Chipotle: Global & Korean Localization

Participants

Creative Direction — Jong Woo Si, Dakyung Lee, Chipotle Creative Team
Lead Design — Jong Woo Si, Dakyung Lee, Michelle Deng
Illustration — Dakyung Lee, Michelle Deng, & Chipotle Creative Team
Copy — Chipotle Creative Team

Project Overview: JD&Co. has partnered with Chipotle for the last eight years, defining and maintaining the visual vocabulary of the iconic fast-casual brand through whimsical storytelling across all touchpoints. As part of this ongoing collaboration, JD&Co. also developed the Korean localization of the brand, including the adaptation of the logo and typography system to reflect the structure and nuances of the Korean writing system while preserving Chipotle’s global character.

Services: Branding / Food & Beverage / Illustration / Packaging / Social

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The Challenge

Chipotle is, well, Chipotle. They needed a nimble design team with an intimate understanding of the brand who could execute quickly with little to no oversight on a wide range of projects. Moreover, they needed an agency partner that could be fully integrated with the organization.

There was an urgent need to maintain the brand’s integrity and creative output at this time, as the company transitioned to a structure with no internal creative team.

JD&Co. has been an absolutely indispensable partner for the internal creative team at Chipotle. They're incredibly talented, producing beautiful work that was continually being used on a national scale, impacting millions of customers on a daily basis.

William Espey
Brand Voice Lead at Chipotle

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The Solution

JD&Co. Design has been a fully integrated partner to the Chipotle in-house creative team for the last six years, concepting and executing countless creatives across packaging, illustrations, and collaterals. (Fun fact: Dakyung was a part of the in-house team before she co-founded JD&Co. Design—so she not only understood the brand, she was also instrumental in building it!)

With an in-office presence at least two days a week, we were able to execute creatives that are not merely on-brand but also in lockstep with the trends and learnings for other Chipotle projects, creating a more unified brand experience.

We were also involved in branding and producing marketing materials for Chipotle’s new business concepts, ShopHouse Kitchen and Pizzeria Locale.

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The Results

Our partnership with Chipotle has allowed the restaurant company to extend its creative capabilities nimbly, without having to increase headcount or rely on their AOR.

Our packaging work, which includes take-out bags, cups, and tray liners, is used by hundreds of thousands of Chipotle customers on a daily basis.

We concepted, developed, and rolled out the Cultivating Thought series, Two-minute essays printed on various Chipotle packaging. This campaign has earned the company something more valuable and lasting than media impressions (of which there were plenty): genuine cultural engagement and thought-provoking levels of brand awareness.

(Fun fact: The Yale Collection of American Literature has acquired a complete set of the Cultivating Thought series!)

Brand Localization: KOREA

Chipotle Mexican Grill is expanding into Asia, with its first locations opening in South Korea and Singapore in 2026. In 2024, JD&Co. Creative was commissioned to design the Korean version of its logo. Drawing on our long partnership with Chipotle and our understanding of Korean culture and typography, we created a localized identity that reflects the structure of the Korean writing system while maintaining Chipotle’s global character.